ABSTRACT
Barnyard millet is an important minor millet crop cultivated owing to its high level of protein, calcium, iron and fibre content. Farmers generally refrain from fertilizer application and there is lack of seed production, inspite of increase in demand. Keeping these in view, a field and laboratory experiments were carried out at Department of Seed Science and Technology and Main Agricultural Research Station (MARS), University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, during kharif 2023-24 with four nutrient managements in main plot viz., N1 - no fertilizer (Control), N2 - organic fertilizers, N3- organic and inorganic fertilizers (Integrated), N4 - inorganic fertilizers and four seed priming treatments in sub plot viz., P1 – no priming (Control), P2 - hydropriming, P3 - osmopriming with 1 per cent Mannitol and P4 - bio-priming with 20 per cent liquid Pseudomonas fluorescens by adopting seed to solution ratio of 1:1 and the treatment combinations were arranged in split plot design with three replications. Results indicated that, integrated use of organic and inorganic fertilizers and biopriming with Pseudomonas fluorescens (N3P4) recorded significantly higher plant growth, seed yield and quality parameters viz., field emergence (88.97 %), plant height (31.14 cm, 72.28 cm and 108.71 cm at 30, 60 days after sowing and at harvest respectively), number of productive tillers per plant (5.94), seed yield (20.93 q/ha), seed germination (93.67 %), shoot length (12.83 cm), root length (7.92 cm), mean seedling length (20.75 cm), mean seedling dry weight (29.42 mg/10 seedlings), seedling vigour index-I (1944), seedling vigour index-II (2756), total dehydrogenase activity (0.382), lower electrical conductivity (14.29 µS/cm) and seed infection (7.10 %). Hence, combining organic and inorganic fertilizers along with seed priming offers the best plant growth, seed yield and quality in barnyard millet.