Amaranth

Amaranth is grown either for grain, as a gluten-free pseudocereal used popped, milled into flour, or cooked as porridge, or as a leafy vegetable harvested for its tender leaves and stems. Some species and cultivars serve both purposes, and ornamental amaranths are also grown.

Vegetable amaranth is among the most important traditional leafy greens in warm regions, valued for rapid growth and nutritional quality, while grain amaranth is grown for its distinctive small, nutritious seed.

Family

Amaranthaceae (amaranth family)

Genus

Amaranthus

Principal grain species

Amaranthus cruentus, A. hypochondriacus, and A. caudatus

Growth habit

Fast-growing, often tall warm-season annual with broad leaves and dense seed heads, using C4 photosynthesis

Grain amaranths were domesticated in the Americas and were important staples of Mesoamerican and Andean civilizations. Vegetable amaranths are grown throughout the warm regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas, where several species are cultivated and gathered.

Statistics on planted area and production are limited and often incomplete; available figures are compiled by FAO and national agencies and should be consulted directly.

Amaranth is a warm-season crop that grows best in warm to hot conditions and is sensitive to frost. As a C4 plant, it tolerates heat and drought well and grows rapidly, though some grain types are photoperiod-sensitive in their flowering.

Vegetable amaranth’s speed of growth allows repeated harvests over a warm season, while grain amaranth completes its cycle over a longer period to mature seed.

Amaranth grows on a wide range of well-drained soils and tolerates moderately low fertility, though it responds strongly to fertile, moisture-retentive soils, particularly for leaf production. Good drainage is important, as seedlings are susceptible to damping-off in wet soils.

Amaranth is established from very small seed, either sown directly or, for some vegetable crops, transplanted. Because the seed is tiny and seedlings are initially slow, a fine seedbed and early weed control are important.

• Species and cultivar chosen for grain or leaf production
• Fine, firm, well-drained seedbed suited to the very small seed
• Early weed control during slow seedling establishment
• Repeated cut-and-come-again harvesting for leaf crops

Nitrogen strongly promotes leaf growth in vegetable amaranth, while balanced nutrition supports grain production. Amaranth can accumulate nitrate under high nitrogen supply, a consideration for leaf crops.

Amaranth is grown both under rain-fed conditions and with irrigation. Its C4 physiology gives it good drought tolerance, but consistent moisture supports the tender, rapid growth desired in leaf crops.

For grain production, adequate moisture during growth and seed set supports yield, while drier conditions during maturity aid harvest.

Damping-off affects amaranth seedlings in wet conditions, and root rots, leaf spots, and white rust occur under favorable conditions. Good drainage and crop rotation help limit these problems.

Flea beetles, aphids, leaf miners, and caterpillars are among the insect pests, with defoliating insects of particular concern for leaf crops. Management combines rotation, field sanitation, monitoring, and, where warranted, locally authorized controls applied according to their labels.

Vegetable amaranth is harvested by cutting young plants or repeatedly picking tender leaves and shoots. Grain amaranth is harvested once seed heads mature and dry, with care taken because the small seed can shatter and requires gentle threshing and cleaning.

• Grain popped, milled into gluten-free flour, or cooked as porridge and in confections
• Leaves and tender stems cooked as a nutritious leafy vegetable
• Some species grown as ornamentals and for natural pigments
• Residues used as livestock feed in some systems