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Balanced nutrient management is essential for improving crop growth and productivity, particularly in low-input and rainfed production systems. The present investigation was conducted during the Kharif season of 2025 at the Agricultural Research Farm, Faculty of Agricultural Science, Mandsaur University, Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, India, to evaluate the effect of nutrient management practices on the growth and yield of proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) in the Western Malwa region. The experiment comprised eight treatments: T₁, control; T₂, 100% recommended dose of fertilisers (RDF; NPK); T₃, 100% farmyard manure (FYM); T₄, 100% vermicompost; T₅, 50% RDF + 50% FYM; T₆, 50% RDF + 50% vermicompost; T₇, 75% RDF + 25% FYM; and T₈, 75% RDF + 25% vermicompost. The trial was laid out in a Randomised Block Design with three replications using the variety GPUP-8, sown at 25 × 15 cm spacing with a seed rate of 10 kg ha⁻¹. Integrated nutrient management treatments improved growth and yield attributes compared with sole nutrient application and the control. Among the treatments, T₅ recorded the highest plant height at 45 and 60 DAS, tillers per plant, panicles per plant, panicle length, grains per panicle, grain yield (905.07 kg ha⁻¹), straw yield (2411.33 kg ha⁻¹) and biological yield (3312.27 kg ha⁻¹). Treatments T₈ and T₇ also performed better than the remaining treatments. The control recorded the lowest values for all parameters. The findings indicate that 50% RDF combined with 50% FYM was the most effective nutrient management practice for improving proso millet performance under the agro-climatic conditions of Western Malwa.