Amaranth Cultivation Guide :
Introduction:-Â Amaranth is the most popular leafy vegetable of south India mostly cultivated in kerala, tamilnadu,karnataka, maharashtra,andhra pradesh, telangana. Amaranth leaves or amaranth greens are healthy leafy vegetables that are widely consumed all over India. It can be grown throughout the year. A void planting or sowing of red le_ved varieties during periods of heavy ram.
Local Names of Amaranth in India : Thotakura(Telugu),Mulai Keerai(Tamil),Cheera(Malayalam),Harive (Karnataka), Rajgeera (Marathi), Rajagaro(Gujarati).
Health benefits of Amaranth Leaves:-Â Some of the health benefits of amaranth leaves are given below.
- Amaranth leaves help in lowering cholesterol.
- Amaranth leaves good for diabetes.
- Amaranth leaves help in digestion.
- Amaranth leaves help in lowering the risk of calcium deficiency.
- Amaranth leaves help in preventing skin related infections.
Commercial varieties of Amaranth Leaves:
Red: Kannara Local, Arun
Green: Co-I, Co-2, Co-3 and Mohini
Note: Kannara Local is a seasonal variety, which start flowering in November to December.
Seed rate in Amaranth farming: 1.5 to 2.0 kg/ha
Preparation of land in Amaranth cultivation:- Prepare the land by ploughing or digging followed by fine levelling. Then shallow trenches of width 30 cm to 35 cm are made 30 cm apart.Farm Yard Manure (FMY) which is well rotten should be added in soil in the trenches. Transplant 20 to 30 day old amaranth seedlings in the shallow trenches at a distance of 20 cm in 2 rows.Plantation should be done on raised beds during rainy season.
Manuring and Fertilizers in Amaranth cultivation:- Apply 50 tonnes of Farm Yard Manure/ha as basal dose before planting. After preparing trenches, apply N:PzOs:K2O @ 50:50:50 kg/ha. Another 50 kg of N can be applied at regular intervals as topdressing. Spraying 1 % urea immediately after each harvesting will increase the yield.
Plant protection in Amaranth cultivation:-Â As far as possible, avoid use of fungicides or insecticides. In the cases of leaf
webber attack, spray malathion 0.1 % or dust malathion 10 % DP.
Goat farming or Sheep farming information : Read Here.
Very good information for farming.
Good Info and could you please tell us about prevention technique of leafy spot in red Amaranth? i have been see a white spot in red amaranth in every crop.