INTRODUCTION Finger millet is small seeded grass, self-pollinated, robust, tufted and tillered annual cereal crop (Michaelraj and Shanmugam 2013). The crop can withstand three challenges i.e. warming stress, water stress and nutrition stress therefore; called as Climate Change Compliant Crop (CCCC) (Ferry, 2014). It is cultivated over an area of 1.19 million hectares with a production of 1.98 million tonne giving an average productivity of 1661 kg per ha. Karnataka accounts for 56.21 and 59.52% of area and production of finger millet followed by Tamil Nadu (9.94% and 18.27%), Uttarakhand (9.40% and 7.76%) and Maharashtra (10.56% and 7.16%), respectively (http://www.indiastat.com). It is still dominated as marginal crop and grown under poor management. Rigorous research efforts have been made to improve the productivity and sustainability of finger millet since half century in India. With the release of new varieties along with good agronomic practices, it has been possible to achieve substantial increase in yield levels and productivity. Production potential of finger millet under dry land conditions is influenced by many factors viz., improved varieties, methods of planting or establishment, planting geometry, nutrient management etc. In this direction, the method of establishment called System of Crop Intensification (SCI) is a recent practice and not much work has been done on this aspect. System of Crop Intensification previously called as System of Root Intensification (SRI) was practiced only in rice to increase the yield of rice (Abraham et al., 2014) by planting the single young seedling at wider spacing. SCI approach facilitates the use of young seedling and wider spacing. The main objective of SCI is to produce more from less using fewer seed and less water but manage the relationship between plant and soil so this is called as low input approach (Abraham et al., 2014). It enables the crop to grow and develop potentially which provides enhanced production in sustainable and ecofriendly manner. Therefore, classical crop cultivation practices needs to overhaul by adopting system of crop intensification for more profitable and sustainable agriculture (Gupta et al., 2018). Planting method varies among farmers according to their choice; leisure period, labour availability and wage rates etc. The most practiced method in finger millet is broadcasting and random transplanting. There is uneven distribution of plants which causes the competition among plants for moisture and nutrients. Yield enhancement in finger millet is possible when cultivated with SCI, because there is less competition among plants and weed, plants can utilize below and above ground resources efficiently (Bhatta et al., 2017). Guni or guli is the vernacular name in Kannada language representing the idea of SCI in finger millet also called as scooping method. In ‘guli’ ragi cultivation, young millet seedlings 20–25 days old are transplanted into holes spaced 45 × 45 cm in a square grid pattern, two seedlings per hole. Guli ragi includes putting a handful of compost or manure into each hole along with the seedlings to boost soil fertility (Adhikari et al., 2018). Further, when the plants are established in a square grid, inter-cultivation between rows is possible in perpendicular directions, not just between rows. It is similar to SRI method of paddy cultivation called as “System of Ragi Intensification” (http://agritech.tnau.ac.in). In the awake of the attempts to popularize this concept and surge in the interest of farmers, a need has risen to generate the scientific data to validate this concept. MATERIALS AND METHODS A field experiment was conducted during kharif, 2019-2020 at Agricultural College Farm, Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad with twelve treatments laid out in split plot design with three replications. The soil of the experimental site was sandy clay loam in texture, neutral in reaction (pH 7.11), low in organic carbon (0.48 %) and available nitrogen (121 kg ha-1), medium in available phosphorous (32.2 kg ha-1) and available potassium (219 kg ha-1). Treatments included Main plots; Methods of establishment M1: Direct line sowing, M2: Transplanting of 25 days old seedlings, M3: Transplanting of 25 days old seedlings in ‘Guni’ method; Subplots: planting geometries: 4, S1: 30 × 10 cm, S2: 30 × 30 cm, S3: 45 × 45 cm and S4: 60 × 60 cm. Finger millet variety ‘Bharati’ (UR 762) was used for the experiment. The experimental field was ploughed under dry condition with tractor drawn disc plough followed by ploughing with cultivator and the clods were broken with rotovator. Finally, the field was uniformly leveled and laid out into experimental plots separated by buffer channels as per the treatments. Direct sowing was taken up as per the treatments on 18th July, 2019. On the same day, seeds were sown in the nursery for transplanting in M2 and M3. The nursery area taken for raising seedlings was @ 150 m2 per ha. The land was ploughed and beds were prepared with a bed size of 2.0 m × 2.0 m. The seeds were line sown evenly on the beds. Powdered FYM was evenly sprinkled to cover the seeds and watering was done at evening hours. After 15 days top dressing was done at 250 g of urea for every seed bed. Seedlings were ready for transplanting at 25 DAS. In M2 treatment i.e., transplanting of the seedlings were taken up in different geometries as per the treatments @ 2-3 seedlings per hill on 12th August, 2019. For ‘guni’ method, the individual plots were uniformly leveled and small gunis or scoops were formed manually using spade at an intersect point of 30 cm × 10 cm, 30 cm × 30 cm, 45 cm × 45 cm and 60 cm × 60 cm spacing. A well rotten FYM @ 1 kg/scoop as spot placement was made to ‘guni’ planting method. On the same day i.e., 12th August, 2019, transplanting of 25 days old seedlings was done in the centre of the ‘guni’ @ 2-3 seedlings per hill. The row to row and plant to plant spacing were kept 30 cm × 10 cm, 30 cm × 30 cm, 45 cm × 45 cm, 60 cm × 60 cm as per the treatments. Recommended dose of N, P2O5 and K2O (40:30:25 kg ha-1) were applied in the form of urea, single super phosphate and muriate of potash. Half dose of N and full dose of P2O5 and K2O were applied as basal dose. Remaining quantity of nitrogen was applied to soil in two equal splits at tillering and panicle emergence. Sampling: In order to record the yield parameters in each net plot, five representative plants were randomly selected and tagged. All the successive observations were recorded on the selected plants during the crop growth period. One row on either side of the plot and two plants on either end of each row were harvested as border rows. Besides this, one crop row was ear marked for periodical destructive sampling to estimate leaf area and dry matter production. The remaining plants in the plot were considered as net plot including five tagged plants which were harvested separately and after recording yield was added to net plot yield. The ear heads of finger millet in the net plot were harvested separately for each treatment at harvest stage and dried separately. Then ear heads of each plot were threshed manually, winnowed and cleaned separately. The straw in each net plot was harvested separately and sun dried. The grain and straw weight were recorded and converted to hectare. Experimental data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis adopting Fisher’s method of ‘analysis of variance’ as out lined by Gomez and Gomez (1984). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A. Yield attributes The yield attributes like number of ear heads per square meter, weight of ear head, and length of finger were significantly influenced by establishment method and crop geometry while number of fingers per ear head and test weight varied only due to crop geometry. The number of ear heads per unit area increased significantly with transplanting 25 days over direct line sowing and in guni method again over transplanting method. Highest number of ear heads were produced at 30 x 10 cm spacing compared to all the other wider spacing. But the mean weight of single ear head was more than doubled at each successive wider spacing compared to the previous one. Highest weight (13.1g) was recorded at 60 × 60 cm. Further, it was also significantly superior in guni method compared to direct sowing. Similarly, the mean finger length was enhanced significantly in transplanting method over direct sowing and further with guni method. Crop geometry also influenced the finger length which was enhanced significantly at 60 × 60 cm over 30 × 30 cm and 30 × 10 cm. The number of ear heads per square meter and length of the fingers were also discernibly influenced by the interaction of both establishment method and crop geometries (Table 1). The combination of transplanting of 25 days old seedlings in guni method with 30 cm x 10 cm crop geometry recorded distinct and significantly higher yield attributes as compared to rest of the treatment combinations tested. On the other hand, the significantly lowest number of ear heads per square meter, number of fingers per ear head and length of the finger of finger millet was recorded with the treatment combination of direct line sowing with 60 cm × 60 cm crop geometry. Further, the treatment combination of direct line sowing with 45 cm × 45 cm crop geometry and transplanting of 25 days old seedlings with 60 cm × 60 cm crop geometry were at par to each other and significantly superior over direct line sowing with 60 cm × 60 cm crop geometry combination. The higher number of ear heads per square meter and test weight with transplanting of 25 days old seedlings in guni method with 30 cm × 10 cm crop geometry could be marked out due to presence of more number of plants per unit area with concurrent availability of space, moisture content and nutrients guni method. The interaction effect between establishment method and crop geometry was not significant with respect to weight of ear head (g), number of fingers per ear head and test weight of finger millet. Ahiwale et al. (2011) also found that the finger millet crop established by transplanting at 20 cm × 15 cm spacing (Thomba method) produced higher ear weight and grain weight per ear. Further, the present results are in consonance with those of Navale (2013). B. Yield Data presented in Table 2 indicated that grain and straw yield were influenced by establishment method, geometry and their interaction. Among all the tested combinations, M3S3 (Transplanting of 25 days old seedlings in guni method with 45 cm × 45 cm crop geometry) recorded the significantly higher grain yield (3423 kg ha-1), straw yield (4939 kg ha-1) and harvest index (0.38) which was comparable with M3S4 (Transplanting of 25 days old seedlings in guni method with 60 cm × 60 cm crop geometry) treatment combinations. On the other hand, the significantly lowest grain yield of 1663 kg ha-1 and straw yield of 3245 kg ha-1 was recorded with the treatment combination of M1S4 (Direct line sowing with 60 cm × 60 cm) and which was statistically comparable with that of M1S3 (Direct line sowing with 45 cm × 45 cm) crop geometry. Under optimum spaced environment (45 cm × 45 cm), the number of productive tillers per unit area and weight of ear heads were higher on per unit basis eventually which results in production of higher grain yield at the end. These results are also in consonance with the findings of Uphoff (2002) in SRI method of rice cultivation. Harvest index was also higher in guni method and 45 × 45 cm spacing. Roy et al. (2002); Zhu et al. (2002) also reported that planting of finger millet under wider spacing than closer spacing improved canopy photosynthesis, increased the percentage of productive tillers and ear head formation. Adhikari (2016) reported from Odisha that improved varieties of finger millet produced 4.8 tonnes/ha under SCI/SFI management, while local varieties gave 4.2 tonnes/ha with these methods. The highest yield recorded was 6 tonnes/ha. On fertile soils, finger millet yields with SCI methods have been found to average 4.5–4.7 tonnes/ha, a four-fold increase over farmers’ usual yields. In Nepal also, SCI grain yield was 82% higher than with direct-seeding, and 25% more than transplanting (Bhatta et al., 2017). Natarajan et al. (2019) from Tamil Nadu reported that 30 cm × 30 cm and 25 × 25 cm (wider spacing) was found to give better yields of finger millet in SCI compared to closer spacing i.e., 20 cm × 20 cm. C. Crop Nutrient Uptake Nutrient uptake is the process of nutrient movement from an external environment into plant. It is one of the fundamental processes of plant’s life which involves qualitative change where an abiotic material becomes a component of a cell, capable of further assimilation. Higher nitrogen (109.8 kg ha-1), phosphorus (24.1 kg ha-1) and potassium (62.9 kg ha-1) uptake was evident from M3S3 (transplanting of 25 days old seedlings in ‘guni’ method with 45 cm × 45 cm crop geometry) which was statistically at par with that of M3S4 i.e., transplanting of 25 days old seedlings in ‘guni’ method with 60 cm × 60 cm crop geometry treatment combinations. On the other hand, the significantly lowest nitrogen uptake of 62.4 kg ha-1, phosphorous uptake of 12.1 kg ha-1 and potassium uptake of 45.0 kg ha-1 was recorded with the treatment combination of M1S4 (direct line sowing with 60 cm × 60 cm) and which was statistically comparable with that of M1S3 (direct line sowing with 45 cm × 45 cm) crop geometry. The higher uptake in grain and straw was due to increased growth parameters like plant height, number of leaves plant-1, number of tillers hill-1 dry matter production and yield parameters like number of productive tillers hill-1, number of finger hill, finger length, grain yield plant-1, ear head weight and 1000 grain weight in widely spaced plants which was due to favorable environment and less competition among plants provided by wider spacing helped the plants to take up more nutrients. Ram et al. (2014); Kumar (2015) also reported the similar findings. D. Economics Significantly higher gross returns (` 107614 ha-1), net returns (` 53749 ha-1) and B-C ratio (2.46) was recorded with M3S3 (transplanting of 25 days old seedlings in ‘guni’ method with 45 cm × 45 cm crop geometry) than other combinations but statistically at par with that of M3S4 (transplanting of 25 days old seedlings in ‘guni’ method with 60 cm × 60 cm crop geometry) treatment combination (Table 4). The treatment combination viz; M3S2 (transplanting of 25 days old seedlings in ‘guni’ method with 30 cm × 30 cm) and M3S4 (transplanting of 25 days old seedlings in ‘guni’ method with 60 cm × 60 cm) performed statistically at par to each other however both of them are significantly superior over M3S1 (direct line sowing with 30 cm × 10 cm). On the other hand, the significantly lowest monetary returns were recorded with the M1S4 combination (direct line sowing with 60 cm × 60 cm) and which was statistically comparable with that of M1S3 (direct line sowing with 45 cm × 45 cm) crop geometry. The higher returns observed in ‘guni’ method of establishment could be due to higher grain and straw yields obtained in this treatment. Such results were also documented by Basavaraj and Rao (1997); Shivakumar (1999). Kumar et al. (2019) also recorded higher B-C ratio in finger millet in System of finger millet Intensification compared to farmers practice. E. Chemical properties of the soil after crop harvest The data pertaining to soil pH, electrical conductivity (dS m-1), organic carbon (%), available nitrogen (kg ha-1), available phosphorus (kg ha-1) and available potassium (kg ha-1) after harvest of finger millet as influenced by establishment method and crop geometry is presented in Table 5. The establishment methods and different crop geometries in finger millet had no influence on soil pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon and available potassium recorded after harvest of the crop. On the other hand, there was a noticeable difference in available nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil. The available nitrogen recorded was significantly higher (173.1 kg ha-1) when finger millet was grown with direct line sowing method and lowest (169.6 kg ha-1) was recorded when 25 days old seedlings were grown under guni method of planting. Similar results were also observed with available phosphorus and available potassium with respect to method of sowing. Such similar findings were also reported by Prakasha (2015) in finger millet western dry zone of Karnataka. The lower soil available nutrient status after harvest of crop in ‘guni’ method was mainly due to higher uptake of nutrients from soil because of higher grain and straw yield. Whereas, higher soil available nutrients in wider spacing (60 cm × 60 cm) was due to lower uptake of nutrients because of realization lower grain and straw yield of finger millet.