Growth and yield of foxtail millet as influenced by potassium in sandy loam soils of Andhra Pradesh, India

Foxtail millet is an important minor millet after finger millet in Andhra Pradesh, India. The recommended dose of fertilizers for foxtail millet in Vertisols is 40-20-0 kg N-P2O5-K2O ha-1. However, it shows well response to application of potassium in Alfisols. Field experiments were conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Perumallapalle, Tirupati, ANGRAU, Andhra Pradesh, India during kharif, 2020, Rabi, 2020-21, Kharif 2021 and Rabi 2021-22 to know the effect of potassium on growth and yield of foxtail millet. The experiment was carried out with seven treatments (application of 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 kg K2O ha-1) in randomized block design. The results revealed that application of 30 kg K2O ha-1recorded higher grain yield (22.26 q ha-1) and was at par with application of 25 kg K2O ha-1 (22.1 q ha-1) and 20 kg K2O ha-1(21.58 q ha-1). Application of 30 kg K2O ha-1 recorded higher mean K uptake (27.08 kg ha-1) however it was on par with 25 kg and 20 kg K2O ha-1(26.59 and 25.98 kg ha-1, respectively).