Amaranthus seed production

Cultivation of amaranthus for seed production is also very beneficial for farmers. Good quality plants can be selected & their seeds re used for further agriculture operations.

21 day old plants transplanted in rows

manuring done after transplanting

amaranthus as inter crop

Following is the seed production technique in amaranth practiced at Padval farms
Land preparation and technique
Since the plants do not occupy much space, it is not needed to specifically choose the land & work on it. The plant when it reaches 21 days must be uprooted form the raised beds & must be manually transplanted in a new area. In certain cases, raised seed beds are made & amaranth transplanted in pairs.
healthy amaranthus after fertilizer application

Spacing of 10 to 15 cm between plants is maintained. Plants can also be planted as intercrop between standing crops like chilly, okra, brinjal & others.
Since we need to choose only good plants for seeds, it is recommended to follow inter culture operations like weeding, fertilizer application, foliar sprays & pest management.
Since the quality & quantity of seeds directly depends on the amount of nutrients it receives, application of farmyard manure should be done 2 weeks after planting. The 3rd week, complex fertilizers NPK can be given as a foliar spray.
Since close spacing of amaranth can lead to high infestation of caterpillars & aphids which damage leaves & developing inflorescence, it is advised to follow the same pest management practice as mentioned in the older post.

seed development stage

It will take around 45 days for the development of the seed from the first day of transplanting. Harvesting the seeds is done, when the plant starts to age & slowly wither. The inflorescence will turn from green color to burnt yellow. The plant is then threshed using bamboo poles or sticks & the seeds separated from other plant matter. Sun drying the seeds for a few days is done. The dry seeds are then treated with captan to prevent insect damage & stored in air tight containers for further use.

Photos and content by Pritham 'Heavy metal farmer' denzil dsouza

amaranth monsoon cultivation

Amaranth requires certain techniques to cultivate in the monsoons are it is highly intolerant to rainfall. The demand for amaranth is high & the makeshift mursery method is being adopted here.



Land preparation

The land selected should be at an open area. Shade areas should be avoided. The selected land should be further divided into smaller raised beds. Since it will not be possible to raise the makeshift nursery during monsoon season, preparations should be done at least one month before the onset of rainfall.



Repeated ploughings should be done on the land, & clods must be broken & weeds, stones other inert materials should be removed. The size of each bed should be 2 meters in lemgth & width & 20 to 25 cm high.

SOWING, FERTILIZER MANAGEMENT IS THE SAME AS THE EARLIER POST

RAISING THE NURSERY

Poles must be erected at the corners of the land chosen. Bamboo can be used here. The appearance of the nursery should be like that of a tent. So provisions must be made such that water does not collect at the top of the nursery, but falls freely at the sides, away from the beds.

Transparent Plastic sheets can be used to protect the plants from rain. The basic principle here is, using transparent plastic sheets, raises the temperature under the tent & this helps in germination & raoid growth of the seedlings.

Since only the top is covered , the sides are open & this allows good aeration. So the plants are protected like an umbrella cover

Here the plants take nearly a month to harvest as cooler temperatures during the rains affects growth drastically.

Photos and content by Pritham 'Heavy metal farmer' denzil dsouza

Amaranthus farming and cultivation

Amaranth (Amaranthus spp) is a very popular commercial & gardening crop with high nutritive value. It grows rapidly, has high yield per unit area of edible matter & crop can the harvested in 21 days, thus providing for repeated cultivations in lesser time.

SOWING & LAND PREPARATION AND SOIL

Since the size of the seeds are very small, it has to be mixed with sand & then broadcast. The ratio of sand to seed is generally 3:1 or 2:1 .

seed mixing

seed broadcasting

turning soil after broadcasting

Raised seed beds about 20 cm height are made and about a truck load of fresh decomposed farm yard manure is added & mixed thoroughly. Seeds are then mixed in the above mentioned ratio & broadcast. Immediately after sowing seeds, very light irrigation must be done.

raised seed beds

CLIMATE AND FERTILIZER APPLICATION

Amaranth responds very well in high temperatures. They are able to efficiently use CO2 and minimize photorespiratory loss. It’s a c4 plant. And photosynthesis takes place even at hot & humid temperatures. Hence it is widely cultivated in tropics & semi tropics.

when plant reaches 3 leaf stage

It responds well to fertilizer application in the form of foliar sprays. Organic manure solutions available in the market must be sprayed @ 1 ml per litre, when the seedlings are at 2 leaf stage. Complex NPK fertilizers can also be sprayed @ 3 grams in 10 litre water.

Amaranth grown for commercial seed production require more fertilizers & that will will be mentioned in another post.

FUNGAL AND PEST MANAGEMENT.

Since the plant produces tender succulent leaves, it is subject to high incidence of pests. Hairy caterpillars feed on the leaves & skeletonise the plant. This can be treated using dichlorvos @ 2 ml per litre.

aphids & scale insects, suck the plant sap & reduce marketability. Dimethoate @ 1 ml per litre is recommended.

fungal attack, white spots on leaf surface which spreads to entire plant

The main problem is the fungal attack on amaranth. White spots appear in the surface of the leaves & make the plant look old & diseased & thus completely reduce marketability. It happens generally if the seeds used for sowing were already contaminated with the disease, or it could be soil borne. Albigo candida is responsible for this. There is no specified treatment, but it can be prevented by treating the seeds & soil with anti fungal agents. Also timely harvesting the crop reduced the chances of white spots appearing as it mostly occurs when the plants are older.

HARVESTING

The most beneficial aspect of amaranth cultivation is that it can be harvested in 21 days. It is also less laborious and requires much less farm inputs due to this & is very economic from the cultivation point of view.

ready for harvesting in 21 days

When the plant attains a height of around 15 to 20 cm, it has to be harvested. The height is generally attained 21 to 25 days after sowing.

making bundles for sale

Harvesting must be done early morning or late evenings. If harvesting is done when the temperature is highm during day time, it will appear withered & wilted.

Since the entire plant is edible it is uprooted as a whole at the time of harvesting. around 10 to 15 plants are then tied together to make a bundle. The entire bundle is then washed in running water & is ready for marketing.

Photos and content by Pritham 'Heavy metal farmer' denzil dsouza