production of amaranth

Crop Production environment
 Amaranth requires fertile loamy soil with adequate moisture. Can grow in any part of the country during the rainy season., and some species are tolerant to a wide range of soil conditions.

Planting
 Always by direct sowing – seeds are very small, so often mixed with dry sand to ensure uniform distribution.
 Mix seed with sand at ratio of 1:2 (i.e. 1 cup of seed: 2 cups of sand) to facilitate even sowing of seeds
 Make shallow drills in the soil surface at spacing of 30 cm (1 ft)
 Sow seeds mixed with sand and cover slightly
 Pure stand performs better especially for commercial purposes.

Manure/ Fertilizer
 Amaranth responds very well to well-
decomposed organic manure
 In absence of organic manure, NPK may
be used
 Incorporate the manure in soil during land
preparation
 Early flowering maybe triggered by low
level of organic matter, little moisture and
very high temperature.

Crop Management
 Thin out seedlings growing too closely in a
row when soil is moist to avoid disturbing the rest of plants
 Thin plants growing in row to 3-5 cm.
 Keep the field weed free


Harvesting
 Harvest at 3-5 weeks after sowing before flowers open.
 Harvest according to market demand i.e.- -
- uproot whole plant
- pluck off the tender shoots (this allows development of new shoots for continuous harvest).
 Sprinkle some water on the heaps of shots to keep them fresh

Insect pests/ diseases
 Caterpillars cause a lot of damage to the
leaves.
 In case of root-knot nematodes,
Meolodogyne sp. It would be highly useful
to carry out crop rotation with crops such as
African nightshade.
 Diseases are most severe on a very old
crop.

Nutrition
 High levels of essential micronutrients
like carotene and vitamin C, iron and
calcium
 It is especially rich in lysine; an essential
amino acid that is lacking in diets based
on cereals and tubers.
 The red species are rich in anthocyanin

Other Uses
 The protein found in young plants can be
important for people without access to meat or other sources of proteins.
 Useful for breast feeding mothers.
 Helps against stomach constipation.
 Micronutrients it contains act as
Important elements against anaemia

Preparation and Utilization
Ingredients:
- 2 handful Amaranth
- 1 onion
- 2 tomatoes
- 3 tbs. cooking oil
- ½ cup groundnut flour
- 1 cup milk
- Salt
- 2 cups water

Procedure:
 sort tender leaves of Amaranth
 wash and cut into small pieces
 boil water, add salt & Amaranth
then cover the pot till soft. Drain
 wash, peel and slice tomato
 clean, wash and slice onion
 roast, remove the husks & grind the groundnuts finely
 fry onions, add tomato and stir till soft