Abstract

Pearl millet, a climate-resilient crop, offers potential for cultivation in humid and sub-humid regions under changing climatic conditions. However, its low productivity in these areas highlights the need for improved nitrogen (N) management. Recent innovations such as nano urea present new opportunities for enhancing nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). A field experiment was conducted during the rabi season of 2023–24 at the Post-Graduate Research Farm, MSSSoA, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Odisha, using a randomised block design with eight treatments replicated thrice. The pearl millet hybrid 'Kaveri Boss 65' was grown under varying N schedules, including soil-applied N and foliar applications of nano urea. The results showed that the N75-3F treatment (75% RDN + 3 nano urea sprays) recorded the highest mean values in terms of plant height, tiller number, dry matter accumulation, grain yield, stover yield, N content, N uptake and NUE. However, across all measured parameters, the mean differences between N75-3F and N75-2F were statistically non-significant. Therefore, the N75-2F treatment, namely, application of 60 kg N ha?¹ with two foliar sprays of nano urea (4 ml l?¹ at 40 and 50 days after sowing), is recommended as the most effective N application strategy for improving pearl millet productivity under south Odisha conditions.

Key words: Foliar spray, nano urea, nitrogen use efficiency, split application, growth parameters, yield