Includes bibliographical references.

A field study was conducted at the research farm of College of agriculture (CAU), Kyrdemkulai, Ri-Bhoi, Meghalaya during kharif season of 2023 to assess the “Performance of Barnyard Millet (Echinochloa frumentacea L.) under different sowing dates and row spacing in mid hills of Meghalaya”. The experimental design used for the study was Split Plot Design (SPD) with three replications, where main plot consisted of three sowing dates: D1(11thJuly), D2(21st July) and D3(31st July) and sub plot also consisted of three different row spacing: S1(20 cm), S2(25 cm), and S3(30 cm). Results revealed that, different sowing dates and row spacing significantly influenced most of the parameters under study. The growth parameters such as plant height, dry weight, leaves per plant, leaf area, Leaf area index(LAI); physiological parameters such as crop growth rate (CGR), relative growth rate (RGR), net assimilation rate (NAR) and yield attributes such as plant population, panicles per plant, panicle length, seeds per panicle, weight of seeds per panicle were influenced by different sowing dates as well as row spacing. The yield parameters like biological yield, grain yield and straw yield were seen to be significantly highest in D1 (11th July sown crop), i.e., 4108.41, 1108.36, 3000.06 kg ha-1 respectively, and lowest for D3 (31st July sown crop) i.e.,3118.68, 817.54, 2301.14 kg ha-1 respectively. Similarly, with regard to various row spacing, the higher and lower values of yield parameters such as biological yield, grain yield and straw yield were recorded by S1 (4110.93, 1043.03, 3067.90 kg ha-1 respectively) and S3 (3101.25, 854.54, 2246.70 kg ha-1 respectively). In terms of economics, sowing the crop in early July (D1) produced significantly highest gross return (Rs. 44334.22), net return (Rs. 21188.01) and BCR (1.91) among the different sowing dates. In case of various row spacing, closer row spacing of 20 cm(S1) recorded significantly highest values of gross return (Rs. 41721.26), net return (Rs. 18420.02) and BCR (1.79). Sowing dates and inter row spacing had no remarkable effect on various soil properties and NPK concentration of grains and straw, however D1 (sowing on 11th July) and closer row spacing S1 (20cm) removed significantly higher amount of nutrients from the soil. From the findings of the experiment it was concluded that, sowing the crop on early July with a closer row spacing of 20 cm is more beneficial in respect of yield and economics for the mid-hills Meghalaya.