Ragi, also known as finger millet, is a short day C4 plant originating from India and Africa. It is a tropical and sub-tropical crop grown primarily between May-August and August-November. Ragi is high in carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, and minerals. It can be grown with a seeding rate of 4-6 kg/ha and has a growth cycle of 90-120 days. Popular varieties include VL 147, Kalyani, Sarada, and Godavari. Ragi requires fertilizer application of FYM, NPK, and irrigation during tillering and pre-flowering to achieve grain yields of 700-800 kg/ha in rainfed conditions and 3-

1. AGRONOMY OF : RAGI
FINGER MILLET
DATED : 22/06/2018 THARUNOJU LAXMAN KUMAR
B.SC AGRICULTURE (HONS)

2. Scientific Name
ELEUSINE CORACANA
Family POACEAE / GRAMINAE
Origin
INDIA - According to DECONDOLLE
AFRICA - According to VAVILOV
USAGE other than human
food
Cattle fodder . The green straw is suitable for
making silage
OTHER NAMES
POOR MAN’S GRAIN .
Bird’s foot millet
,TAIDALU,RAGULU,MANDUA
Originated From ELEUSINE INDICA

3. CARBOHYDRATE - 76 %
PROTEIN - 9 . 2 %
( 12 % HAMSA VARIETY )
FAT – 1.3 %
ASH 3 - 4 %
VITAMINS & MINERALS
-
A , B, 2. 5 % minerals ( P , Ca )
Ca 0.33 % Richest among other cereals
NUTRITION IN GRAIN

4. • SEEDLING
TILLERING stage
• FLOWERING
• Maturity stage
GROWTH STAGES

5. .
Climate &
Temperature
It is a tropical and sub-tropical crop
Season :- PUNASA (or) BURAD CHODI : (May-Aug)
Main Season (or) PEDDA PANTA : (Aug-Nov)
PYRU season : (Nov/Dec – Feb/ March)
PLANT TYPE SHORT DAY ,C 4 PLANT .
Rainfall :- 500 – 1000 mm
Soil & PH
·
Well-drained loam or clay loam. It tolerates salinity better
than other cereals. Heavy black cotton soils, gravelly and
stony soils with poor fertility . It can not tolerate
waterlogged conditions.

6. SOWING Broad casting , Transplanting .
Seed rate 4 – 6 Kg /Ha
Seed treatment THIRAM or CAPTAN @ 3g/kg of seed.
AZOSPIRILLUM 600 Grams ( For direct sown crop )
SPACING 15x15 cm or 15x15cm – for long duration varieties
15x10 cm – for Short duration varieties.
THINNING AT 10 – 25 DAS / 10 DAT

7. TRANSPLANTATIO
N
17-20 days old seedlings Transplanted to main
field .
Before transplanting is done or root dipping is done
for
15–30 minutes with AZOSPIRILLUM 5 packets
(1000 g) in 40 lit water. Beds of 10–20 m2
CROP DURATION 90 – 120 DAYS
AICRP
BANGALORE ( KN )
VARIETIES
VL 147 ,KALYANI,SARADA,GODAVARI,
SIMHADRI,RATNAGIRI,HAMSA , SURAJ,
PADMAVATHI
,SAPTHAGIRIMARUTHI , GAUTHAMI,BHARATHI

8. FERTILIZER
APPLICATION
KG / HA
For Nursery:
FYM : 10t/ha Incorporation before sowing
40-40-40 kg N, P2O5 and K2O/ha
For main field:
FYM: 10t/ha – Before sowing
60-30-30 kg N, P2O5 and K2O/ha
N is applied in 2 Splits
1. At the time of transplanting – ½ dose of N along
with full dose of P and K.
2. Remaining dose of N at 30 DAS.

9. CRITICAL STAGES OF
IRRIGATION
1 TILLERING
2 PRE FLOWERING
Weed Management Application of BUTACHLOR 2.5 l/ha or
FLUCHLORALIN 2 l/ha or
PENDIMETHALIN 2.5 l/ha or
METOXURON 0.75 kg/ha as pre-emergence
with 900 l of water .
For rain fed directed seeded crop, application of
post emergence herbicide like 2,4-DEE or 2,4-
D Na salt at 0.5 kg/ha is done on 10th day after
sowing
IMPORTANT WEEDS
AMARANTHUS , JOHNSON GRASS ,
CYNODON., CYPERUS , PHYLLANTHUS,

10. HARVESTING Crop matures in about 4-4 ½ months . Ear heads on main
shoots matures earlier than tillers. As & when Ear heads
are matured harvesting is done generally 2 or 3 times .
YIELD RAINFED CROP :
700 – 800 Kg /Ha Grain yield
1100 – 1800 Kg / Ha Fodder yield
IRRIGATED CROP :
3 – 3 .5 T/Ha Grain yield
3.5 – 5 T /Ha Fodder yield
TO
STORE GRAIN
10 %