1 SMS KVK (e mail: chaudharys1973@gmail.com). 2 SRF, Raja Balwant Singh College. 3 Atarra Post Graduate College, Atarra, Banda (UP). 4 Project Officer, Chhindwara (MP). 5 Scientist (e mail: sarv.grandee@gmail.com), IARI, New Delhi. Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L) R Br] and lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) crops are very important for their contribution to human and animal nutrition, on components of indigenous cropping system, and as restorer of soil fertility. Pearl millet is the fourth most important cereal and widely grown in India because of its tolerance to drought, high temperature and low soil fertility. Lentil is an important legume crop mainly grown in residual soil moisture and prominent source of vegetable protein. Pearl millet-lentil cropping system is practiced with no application of chemical fertilizers. There is stagnation and deterioration in productivity of both the crops in a cropping sequence as well as on individual basis because sulphur deficiency is very common in alluvial soils of Agra (Singh 2015). Sulphur deficiency in crop plants has been recognized as a limiting 65 Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 86 (12): 1581–5, December 2016/Article https://doi.org/10.56093/ijas.v86i12.65452 Effect of sulphur on yield, nutrient uptake and economics of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) and lentil (Lens culinaris) grown in sequence on an alluvial soil SANDEEP SINGH 1 , JAGPAL SINGH 2 , MOHAMMAD HALIM KHAN 3 , ANIL KUMAR PAL 4 and SARVENDRA KUMAR 5 Raja Balwant Singh College, Dr BRA University, Bichpuri, Agra, Uttar Pradesh 283 105 Received: 21 April 2016; Accepted: 18 June 2016 ABSTRACT A field experiment was carried out in kharif and rabi seasons of 2010-11 and 2011-12 at Panwari village of Agra district (Uttar Pradesh) to study the response of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L) R. Br. emend Stuntz) and lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) grown in sequence to sulphur (0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 kg/ha) application on alluvial soil. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with four replications. Results revealed that increasing levels of sulphur up to 30 kg S/ha significantly increased the plant height (224.7 cm), ear head length (29.1 cm), ear head diameter (10.85 cm), test weight (11.00 g) and grain weight/ear (33.95 g) as compared to control. Application of 30 kg S/ha increased significantly the mean grain and stover yield of pearl millet by 23.0 and 18.7% over control, respectively. The uptake of nutrients by pearl millet crop increased significantly due to sulphur application over control. The highest protein content (10.8%) and yield (351.0 kg/ha) of pearl millet grain was obtained with 60 and 30 kg S/ha, respectively. Sulphur application in preceding pearl millet crop at 45 kg S/ha was found to be best for growth and yield attributes of lentil. The residual S at 45 kg S/ha significantly increased the grain and straw yield of lentil by 0.47 and 0.65 t/ha over control, respectively. Such beneficial effect of S was also found in increasing uptake of nutrients and protein content (24.0%) and yield (474.3 kg/ha) of lentil. Application of 45 kg S/ha recorded the highest net returns of ` 63 922/ha, which was closely followed by 30 kg S/ha. The maximum value of benefit: cost ratio (3.78) in crop sequence was recorded with application of 45 kg S/ha. Agronomic efficiency and apparent S recovery were recorded higher at 30 kg S/ha in pearl millet and 45 kg S/ha in lentil. Application of 60 kg S/ha significantly improved the status of available S in post-harvest soil over initial value of sulphur. Key words: Economics, Nutrient uptake, Pearl millet-lentil crop sequence, Sulphur, Yield factor not only for crop growth and grain yield but also for poor quality of products, because sulphur is a constituent of several essential compounds such as cysteine, methionine, cystine, coengymes thioredoxine and sulfolipids etc. In general, S requirement of legume crops is higher than those of cereal crops, but its application as a fertilizer or as a constituent of other fertilizers is generally overlooked resulting in widespread deficiency of this element. The response of pearl millet and lentil grown in sequence to S fertilization is guided by soil type, cropping systems followed and prevailing weather conditions. The nutrients applied in one crop are not fully utilized, which leads to their residual effect on succeeding crop. The experimental results at various places indicated that both pearl millet and lentil responded well to sulphur application (Singh et al. 2013, 2014). Thus, sulphur application benefits more than one crop and shows a significant residual effect on the succeeding crops. Since information on direct and residual effects of sulphur in pearl millet-lentil crop sequence in Agra region is meager. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted with the aim to