The poor resource growers of southern Chhattisgarh have deprived of modern technologies of cultivation including externally managed inputs to augment the finger millet production. The low, negligible or no profit associated rainfed (aerobic) agriculture is still the only option owing to their socio-economic condition and physiographic location. The field experiment was conducted during the rainy (Kharif) seasons of 2011 and 2012 at Bastar district of Chhattisgarh with local finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn) locally known as 'Mandiya' for assessing the sustainability of finger millet productivity. The soil was sandy loam, low in organic carbon (0.43%), and available N (178 kg/ha), P (21.4 kg/ha), medium in K (179 kg/ha) available with almost neutral (pH 6.8) in reaction. Application of fertilizer and manure significantly increased plant height and flag leaf length; N:P:K @ 40:30:15 kg/ha + 7 t/ha or 50:40:20 N:P:K kg/ha + Rice husk ash 4t/ha gave significantly taller plants, flag leaf length, tillers/hill, filled grains/finger and finger length than other fertilizer treatments along with Rice husk ash (RHA).

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The present study was undertaken to study the extent of genetic variability, character association and path analysis in 53 irrigated late duration breeding lines for 12 quantitative and 10 quality parameters. Analysis of variance revealed the presence of significant variation among the breeding lines for all the characters except for total tillers per plant, effective tillers per plant, spikelet fertility percentage and grain yield per plant. The highest magnitude of PCV and GCV were displayed by grain yield per plant followed by harvest index, filled spikelet per panicle and 1000 seed weight. The greater extent of heritability in broad sense were recorded for days to maturity, days to 50% flowering, 1000 seed weight, plant height, total spikelet per panicle, kernel length, kernel L:B ratio, grain length, head rice recovery percentage, amylose content, hulling and milling percentage. However, high heritability coupled with high genetic advance as percent of mean were displayed by plant height, number of spikelet per panicle, filled spikelet per panicle,1000 seed weight, kernel length, kernel L:B ratio, grain length, head rice recovery percentage and amylose content. Grain yield per plant exhibited positive significant correlation with harvest index, effective tillers per plant, 1000 seed weight, spikelet fertility %, days to maturity and days to 50% flowering. Path analysis revealed direct effect on grain yield were exerted by days to 50% flowering followed by harvest index, 1000 seed weight, total tillers per plant, number of spikelet per plant, effective tillers per plant and plant height indicating their importance in rice breeding programs.

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