AGRO-MORPHOLOGICAL VARIABILITY OF AMARANTHUS GENOTYPES IN SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

Amaranthus is a genus of traditional leafy vegetables that can play a role in food security, poverty reduction, and alleviation of malnutrition at household level in South Africa. The crop is mostly wild harvested for home consumption, income generation, and nutritional supplement. Very little attention has been paid to Amaranthus by breeders in South Africa despite its food security implications among the rural poor. It is therefore important to characterize and evaluate available genotypes in order to select superior parental lines as a first step for the improvement of the species. This will ultimately benefit the small-scale farmers who are the major user of the crop in South Africa. To this end, a total of 32 genotypes were planted in the field in a randomized complete block design, with three replications. The analysis of variance showed highly significant (p≤0.01) differences among the Amaranthus species for all phenotypic traits, indicating the existence of high genetic variability. This information will assist in the selection of suitable parental lines for use in Amaranthus improvement programme in South Africa.