Drought and Low Nitrogen Impact on Finger Millet Yield and Grain Nutrition

ORCID

Dewage: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4049-1005; Bista: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9047-5024; Wijewardane: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8962-9451

MSU Affiliation

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Department of Plant and Soil Sciences; Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering; James Worth Bagley College of Engineering

Creation Date

2026-06-30

Abstract

Dry and nutrient-poor soils pose a significant threat to food and nutritional security. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana [L.] Gaertn.), a climate-resilient nutraceutical crop, shows promise in such soils. However, reproductive-stage performance of this crop under low-nitrogen and drought conditions has been overlooked relative to that of major cereals. This study evaluated the growth, yield, and grain nutrient-related trait responses of finger millet under control (CNT), low nitrogen (LN), drought stress (DS), and combined LN + DS conditions. Although all stresses imposed at flowering delayed days to maturity, DS had a greater negative impact on yield components, whereas LN significantly affected grain nutrient content. The yield loss was highest under combined stress (54 %), followed by DS (30 %) and LN (15 %). Although the harvest index remained stable under individual stress, it declined by 25 % under combined stress. The phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sulfur, and iron content of grain remained unchanged under all stresses. However, nitrogen under DS and copper, zinc, and boron under LN increased significantly. Therefore, the observed increases likely reflect a combination of concentration effects and sustained or improved nutrient uptake and remobilization, rather than seed size reduction alone. Yield components responded in the order LN + DS > DS > LN, while grain nutrient responses were highest under LN and LN + DS and lowest under DS. This study highlights resilience and biofortification potential of finger millet under marginal soils. Future studies should prioritize elucidating the molecular mechanisms that regulate multi-stress tolerance during the critical growth stage.

Publication Date

1-10-2026

Publication Title

Journal of Agriculture and Food Research

Publisher

Elsevier

Rights

© 2026 The Authors

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Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2026.102634