Studies on yield and its attributes in vegetable amaranth

Performance of 22 vegetable amaranth genotypes (three improved types and 19 land races) were assessed in red and laterite belt of West Bengal, India for leaf number per plant, leaf length, leaf width, weight per plant, leaf and stem (fresh and dry) weight, leaf-stem ratio (fresh and dry) and green yield per hectare during spring-summer, 2007. High significant differences were found among the entries for all the studied traits. Wide range of variation was observed for green yield (55.8 to 300.2 q/ ha) and other component traits. Best performer, Purulia Collection 2, produced 50.3%, 11 3.2% and 11 8.6% more greens than the improved types Japani jabakusum, Pusa Kirti and Arka Suguna, respectively at 35 days after sowing. Bankura Collection 2 having highest leaf-stem ratio (fresh and dry) and producing broadest leaves among all studied genotypes, was identified as most promising type.