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D Abhigna R. Kalpana S. Radhamani V. Ravichandran P. Janaki P. Geetha

Abstract

Brown top millet distinguishes itself as unique due to its elevated levels of protein, carbohydrates, crude fibre, calcium, iron, and dietary fibre. Recently, it has gained recognition among various little millets for its significant potential to thrive in resource-poor and vulnerable ecological conditions. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the performance of this emerging Brown top millet in diverse and challenging soils prevalent in Tamil Nadu. The assessment primarily focused on its growth, yield, and yield attributes in these diverse soil environments. The pot experiment was conducted in the Department of Agronomy, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, during the Kharif 2023 season. Five problematic soils were collected from various zones in Tamil Nadu and compared with the millet-growing soils of TNAU, Coimbatore (Control), and tested in a randomized complete block design with four replications.  Brown top millet's growth, yield, and yield attributes were calculated using the standard formula. The study revealed that the treatment of acidic soils of Annaikatti, Coimbatore district recorded significantly higher plant height (105.5 cm), Leaf area index (LAI) (2.13), Soil Plant Analysis Development chlorophyll meter value (28.5), dry matter production (26.68 g plant-1), number of effective tillers plant-1 (8.0), panicle length (17.6 cm), panicle weight (14 g), grain yield (12.7 g plant-1), and test weight (3.3 g) and found comparable with sandy clay loam soils of Eastern Block 37B TNAU, Coimbatore (Control). The lowest values were recorded with the sodic soils of ADAC& RI, Trichy. The present study concluded that the Brown top millet has shown its adaptability to acidic and moderate saline soils and could perform better with effective management strategies.     


 

Article Details

Article Details

Keywords

Brown top millet, Growth, Problematic soils, Yield

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Section
Research Articles

How to Cite

Performance of Brown top millet (Brachiaria ramosa L.) grown under problematic soils. (2024). Journal of Applied and Natural Science, 16(2), 503-507. https://doi.org/10.31018/jans.v16i2.5471