Finger Millet Residue Management: Impacts on Soil Health and System Productivity in Succeeding Crops – A Review
Abstract
Rainfed and upland agriculture in India faces mounting challenges due to continuous cereal monoculture, leading to soil degradation and vulnerability to climate variability. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn.), a climate-resilient and nutrient-rich small millet, offers a sustainable alternative for diversification. This review synthesizes evidence on the role of finger millet residue management in enhancing the productivity, nutrient uptake, soil properties, and economics of succeeding crops. With significant residue biomass (approximately 5 tonnes ha⁻¹) often underutilized, in-situ incorporation or mulching of these residues consistently improves dry matter accumulation, growth, and yield of subsequent legumes and cereals. These practices enhance nutrient cycling, increasing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium uptake by 10-30% in crops like greengram, groundnut, and maize. Long-term residue retention boosts soil organic carbon by 15-30%, reduces bulk density, and improves overall soil fertility compared to removal or burning. Economically, residue-based systems, particularly when integrated with legumes, yield higher gross and net returns with favorable benefit-cost ratios, despite marginally higher initial costs. Finger millet residue management is thus a viable strategy for ecological intensification. Adopting finger millet– legume systems with efficient residue recycling can significantly contribute to soil health, climate resilience, and livelihood security in India'srainfed regions.
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Introduction
Agriculture in India'srainfed and upland regions underpins rural livelihoods and national food security. However, reliance on intensive cereal-based systems, particularly continuous rice cultivation, has led to declining productivity, accelerated soil degradation, and heightened climate vulnerability (Woźniak, 2019). These issues are acute in fragile uplands, where water scarcity, poor soil health, and socio-economic constraints limit sustainable intensification. Consequently, identifying resilient, resource-efficient cropping alternatives is imperative.
Finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn.) emerges as a promising solution. A hardy, climate-smart small millet traditionally grown in southern and central India, it is valued for its exceptional nutritional profile, being rich in calcium, iron, dietary fiber, and the essential amino acid methionine—often deficient in staple cereals (Devi et al., 2011). Agronomically, it thrives in marginal environments with minimal inputs, exhibits drought tolerance, and adapts to short growing seasons (Kumar et al., 2024). Beyond grain, its straw is a valuable resource, high inorganic matter (89-92%) and containing significant crude protein (3-5%), calcium (344 mg 100g⁻¹), and potassium (408 mg 100g⁻¹) (Malleshi et al., 2021). Website: www.ijoear.com Journal DOI: 10.25125/agriculture-journal In India, finger millet is the leading small millet, cultivated on approximately 1.2 million hectares with a production of 1.56 million tonnes (Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, 2023). With an estimated straw yield of 5 tonnes ha⁻¹, annual residue production approaches 6 million tonnes nationally. However, a considerable proportion is either discarded or burned, representing a significant loss of organic nutrients and contributing to environmental degradation. Efficient utilization of this residue through in-situ incorporation or mulching offers a direct pathway to enhance soil fertility, improve nutrient cycling, and bolster farm-system resilience.
Continuous cereal monoculture depletes soil organic carbon (SOC) and microbial diversity (Woźniak, 2019). Diversification with finger millet, particularly in rotation with legumes (e.g., greengram, groundnut, horsegram), facilitates ecological intensification by enabling biological nitrogen fixation, improving soil structure, and suppressing pests. Within such diversified systems, the management of finger millet residues becomes a critical lever for sustainability. This review synthesizes available evidence on the impact of finger millet residue management on the performance of succeeding crops, focusing on crop growth, nutrient uptake, soil properties, and system economics, to guide sustainable practices in rainfed agro-ecosystems.
Conclusion
Finger millet is more thana climate-resilient nutricereal; its substantial residue biomass represents a critical on-farm resource for ecological sustainability. This review affirms that in-situ management of finger millet residues through mulching or incorporation significantly enhances the productivity and nutrient uptake of succeeding crops, improves key soil health indicators like SOC and bulk density, and proves economically viable. Moving away from residue burning or removal towards systematic recycling is a low-cost, high-impact strategy. Promoting diversified finger millet–legume systems coupled with scientific residue management can be a cornerstone for achieving sustainable intensification, restoring degraded uplands, and securing livelihoods in India'srainfed regions. Policy support, extension services, and context-specific research are needed to translate this potential into widespread farm-level practice CONFLICT OF INTEREST The authors declare no conflict of interest.