Agrometeorological indices, physiological growth parameters and performance of finger millet as influenced by different cultivars under hot and sub humid region of Odisha

Present-day agriculture is under tremendous pressure due to various factors such as climate change, degradation of soil and water quality, and yield plateauing of major food crops. Under these scenarios, there is an urgent need to choose a climate-resilient and ecologically hardy crop which can perform under adverse conditions with low input requirements. In this regard, millets can be suitable crops for agricultural sustainability. Among various millets, finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn) is cultivated mainly in India and Africa. However, most farmers grow finger millet with local cultivars, and improved ones can be replaced to enhance productivity. The present investigation conducted at the Post Graduate Research Farm of Centurion University of Technology and Management, Odisha, focused on evaluating suitable cultivars of finger millet. The study revealed that cultivars significantly influenced finger millet growth, productivity, and economics. The physiological growth parameters, namely, crop growth rate, relative growth rate, net assimilation rate and leaf area duration were significantly influenced by finger millet cultivars. The growing degree days (GDD), helio-thermal units (HTU) and photothermal units (PTU) of the finger millet showed a great variation among the cultivars. The Maximum total GDD (2169 °C day), HTU (18141 °C day hours) and PTU (24297 °C day hours) were recorded in the cultivar Hima(w) VR 936. The cultivars Indravathi VR 1101, Sri Chaitanya VR 847 (1.73) and Hima (W) VR 936 (1.60) were superior to other cultivars in expression of the grain yield and economics of finger millet. The study concluded that the cultivation of Indravathi and Sri Chaitanya could be considered as short-duration cultivars; however, Hima can be chosen as long duration crop for successful finger millet cultivation with higher net returns and benefit-cost ratio under hot and sub-humid regions of Odisha.