Amaranth Growing and Harvest Information

Amaranthus or Amaranth or Amaranths is one of the oldest warm climate leafy vegetable crops grown since centuries. At present, Amaranth is extensively grown as a green, leafy vegetable in many temperate and tropical regions in the world. When it comes to plant description, it is erect and spreading annuals with a rough appearance. Amaranth is grown for its green leaves and grains. Even these plants can be grown for ornamental purposes. Most of the Amaranthus species originated in India or Indo-China or South East Asia region and spread across the world. However, it is produced and used as a grain or leafy vegetable in India, Mexico, China, Southeast Asia Regions, the Andean highlands in South America and the United States. Farmers can safely bet on this crop cultivation as demand is very good in domestic markets for daily consumption. By following proper crop cultivation practices, one can get decent profits in Amaranth farming. To increase food security and reduce malnutrition in the current situation, encouraging the cultivation of Amaranth should be carried out. One can grow these plants in backyards, pots, containers or even terrace with proper soil and irrigation.

Commercial cultivation of Amaranth can be practiced in controlled environments such as polyhouse and greenhouse. The cultivation practices of Amaranthus depends on what the crop is intended for (leaves or grains).

Scientific Name or Botanical Name of Amaranth: Amaranthus spp.

Genus of Amaranth: Amaranthus L.

Family Name of Amaranth: Amaranthaceae.

Health Benefits of Amaranth: The following are some of the health benefits of Amaranth.

• Amaranth leaves are good source of protein.
• Amaranth leaves are good source of Antioxidants.
• Amaranth leaves are good for bone development.
• Amaranth leaves are good for digestive health.
• Amaranth leaves are good for heart health.
• Amaranth leaves are good for eye health.
• Amaranth leaves are good for preventing from birth defects.
• Amaranth leaves are good for weight loss.
• Amaranth leaves are good for hair health.
• Amaranth leaves are good for strengthening blood vessel walls.
  

1. Where to Grow Amaranth:

Amaranth is a summer-tolerant green that is often called vegetable amaranth to distinguish it from the similarly named, but different landscaping amaranth, and in the Caribbean it goes by the name callaloo. The smaller varieties planted as decoration will not produce any usable seed, but can still be eaten as salad greens. Unlike most salad greens, this one thrives in hot weather, so if you grow amaranth - or tetragonia, Malabar spinach, orach, or purslane for that matter - you can keep the salads coming all year long. Amaranth delivers salad greens when lettuce and spinach have long since bolted. In addition to tasting somewhat spinach like, amaranth is healthful; lots of protein, vitamins, minerals, and dietary fibre. In addition to growing for salad greens, it is (maybe more common historically) grown for its grain. Amaranth is a grain very similar to quinoa or couscous. It is very healthy for you and often found in health food stores.

2. Varieties of Amaranth:

• Red-leaf vegetable amaranth; medium green leaves with burgundy-red overlay creates an attractive splash of colour to your summertime salads.
• Black seeded Amaranth varieties tend to remain quite gritty when cooked, and are best suited for their greens.
• The golden or lighter coloured seeds tend to cook better, and all of them have delectable greens.

Tampala is one of the tastiest varieties grown for its greens.

3. Soil for Amaranth:

Amaranth grows well in a variety of soil types. Generally speaking those soils suitable for growing lettuce, would make a nice place for growing amaranth. Your soil should be finely prepared in order to achieve the proper seed planting depth. Seeds should be planted no more than 1/4 inch deep.

4. Planting Amaranth:

When - Direct sow seeds once the soil temperature has reached around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. One gram of seed will sow 50 ft. of row and an acre requires about one pound of seed.

How - Seed should be sown thinly (12 to 15 seeds per foot) in rows 12 to 18 inches apart. This will encourage thickly developed plants. Closer spacing results in smaller heads, which may be preferable for small families. Because the seed is so small, it can be mixed with sand to avoid excessive thinning once the seed has germinated. It is not recommended to broadcast seed, because there will not be sufficient spacing for the plants to develop quality grains.

Amaranth seedlings can easily be blocked from emergence by a thin crust on the soil formed after a rain. Selecting soils that are lower in clay, and managing the seedbed to minimize the chance of crusting can help ensure a good harvest.

5. How Amaranth Grows:

Amaranth is very easy to grow. It is fairly maintenance free, but its slow initial growth leaves it susceptible to competition among weeds until it is established. Amaranth prefers a warm climate, full sun and well-drained soil. It will grow tall, and can top 5 feet high. Flowers are produced on long straight stems, are long lasting and will bloom from mid-summer until the first hard frost.

6. Cultivating Amaranth:

Amaranth resembles lamb's quarters as well as a red rooted pigweed (especially in early stages of growth), so it is best to plant in rows to simplify weeding. Growing amaranth varieties that have purple or red leaves also simplifies weeding. Amaranth appears to be fairly slow growing at first, but it can be very drought tolerant once established. It can successfully be grown in areas with less than 10 inches of yearly rainfall. Once the plants reach about one foot in height, they start growing very rapidly, and will quickly shade out any remaining weeds. Amaranth is a fairly low maintenance crop, but care should be taken early on to ensure they stand a good chance of establishing. Removing the terminal buds of the amaranth plant will help to encourage branching and develop a larger percentage of tender young shoots for salad greens.

7. Harvesting Amaranth:

Pick individual leaves as needed for greens. Younger greens are great for salad, older greens are better cooked as a substitute for spinach. Seed will often ripen many weeks before the first hard frost, usually after about three months from planting time. The best way to determine if the seed is able to be harvested is to gently, but briskly shake or rub the flower heads between your hands to see if the seeds fall readily. Numerous small and appreciative birds may give hints as to when to start doing this. The best time to harvest the amaranth grain is on a dry day 3 to 7 days after a hard frost.

An easy way to gather the grain is to bend the plants over a bucket and rub the seed heads between your hands. This method may take a little longer to do, but there won't be as much chaff and debris to sort out later. Only the very dry seeds will come out this way, so do a second harvest a week or so later to catch any remaining seeds that were not ready the first time. We like to rub the flower heads onto a screen set on a wheelbarrow. The finer chaff can then be blown off the screen. In our experience cutting and hanging plants indoors does not work very well. The plants become extremely bristly and it becomes difficult to separate the seed from the chaff.

After harvesting it is important to further dry your crop to ensure it won't grow mould in storage. It can be left on trays in the hot sun, or placed near an indoor heat source. Stir occasionally until it is as dry as possible. Store seeds in an air-tight container in a cool dry place. Amaranth grain is fairly high in fat, and can go rancid eventually. The best way to store it is in the fridge, in a tightly sealed container. The grain should last up to 6 months this way.

8. Amaranth Pests:

• Tarnished plant bug - congregate around the growing seed heads and by sucking the fluid out, they can stunt the seed production.
• Amaranth weevil - The weevils are a 2-stage threat with the larvae chewing on the roots and the adults going after the leaves.

9. Amaranth Diseases:

Premature flowering is a serious problem in cultivation of amaranth. Deficiency of Nitrogen, extreme high temperatures of soil and poor soil aeration are main reasons for premature flowering or bolting. Leaf blight and white rust are most common diseases found in Amaranth farming. Leaf blight disease is most severe during rainy season. The disease symptoms include appearance of white and irregular spots on leaves. To control this, avoid splash irrigation and spray Mancozeb at 4grams/litre of cow dung supernatant as fine droplets. Apart from this, selecting disease resistant variety is also important.

Note: Your local horticulture is a good source for finding suitable solutions for controlling pests and diseases in Amaranth farming.

10. Amaranth Harvest and Yield:

Usually the Amaranthus leaves will be ready for picking after 5 to 8 weeks after sowing. Maturity of the crop may depend on cultivar. Harvest the crop in early hours by pulling fully grown plants along with roots at 30, 45 and 55 days after sowing. Washout the roots and bundle them to send them to local vegetable markets. If you choose to have multi-cut, first clipping should be done at 30 to 35 days after sowing. Subsequent cuttings should be done at weekly interval or based on re-generation of leaves.

Yield of crop depends on many factors like cultivar, age of the plant, soil type, irrigation, and climate and agriculture practices. On an average, one can obtain under ideal farming conditions, green leaves of 100-120 quintals/ha and seed production of 200-225 kg/ha.

11. Marketing of Amaranth:

Contact any wholesale agent or commission agent or fruit processing company for bulk purchase.

12. Cost and Profits in Amaranth Farming:

Cost and Profit depends on many factors like local labour charges, soil, irrigation, climate, current market price and cultivation practices. On an average, 1 acre of amaranth cultivation cost around $100 to $200 including transportation. One can expect gross returns of $400 to $700/acre.