Standardization of Pellet size for Mechanized Sowing in Foxtail Millet (Setaria italica).

The experiment was conducted at Department of Seed Science and Technology, Coimbatore during 2019-20 to standardize the pellet size for mechanized sowing in foxtail millet. The seeds of foxtail millet (Setaria italica) were circumscribed by small amount of filler materials and adhesive to produce a globular unit of size and also supply nutrient to the plant. Pellet size in terms of seed size has been standardized by using TNAU pelleting powder as filler material and gum acacia as adhesive to suite the requirement of air assisted seed drill for precision sowing with minimum seed rate. Results showed that the pellet size of 3.1 mm was found to be optimum for mechanized sowing with seed drill and 11 layers of coating with filler material increases the seed size from 0.8 to 3.1mm. The seeds coated to 11 layers have recorded maximum germination (87%), root length(12.7 cm), shoot length (6.3 cm),vigour index (1656) with high speed of germination (6.5) at laboratory condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]