S. K. SHARMA* AND MANJEET
Department of Agronomy
Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125004 (Haryana), India
*(e-mail: sksharma67@rediffmail.com)
(Received : 13 December 2022; Accepted : 18 September 2023)

SUMMARY

Field experiments were conducted at Dryland Agriculture Research Farm of CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during Kharif season of 2020 and 2021 to study the effect of various foliar sprays on the production and profitability of pearl millet under dryland conditions. On the basis of pooled data, results revealed that foliar spray of urea @ 2% + 0.5% ZnSO₄ + 0.5% FeSO₄ + 1% KCl recorded significantly higher plant height (186.8 cm), number of effective tillers (3.1), length of earhead (25.0) and earhead girth (31.4) over control. However, foliar spray of urea @ 2% + 0.5% ZnSO₄ + 0.5% FeSO₄ and urea @ 2% + 0.5% ZnSO₄ + 0.5% FeSO₄ + 1% KCl remained at par with regard to plant height. Foliar spray of urea @ 2% + 0.5% ZnSO₄ + 0.5% FeSO₄ + 1% KCl also remained statistically at par with urea @ 2% + 0.5% ZnSO₄ + 0.5% FeSO₄, urea @ 2% + 0.5% ZnSO₄, water soluble complex fertilizer (19:19:19) @ 1% + 0.5% ZnSO₄ + 0.5% FeSO4 and water soluble complex fertilizer (19:19:19) @ 1% + 0.5% ZnSO₄ with respect to yield attributing parameters. Further, the data showed that foliar spray of urea @ 2% + 0.5% ZnSO₄ + 0.5% FeSO₄ increased grain and stover yield of pearl millet by 26.6 and 34.1 % compared to control (no spray of any material/water) with higher net returns (Rs. 21788 ha^-1) and BC ratio (2.13).

Key words: Dryland, economics, foliar spray, pearl millet, yield attributes, yield

231-235