Amaranth Modern Prospects for an Ancient Crop (1984) / Chapter Skim
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'Vegetable Amaranths'
'Vegetable Amaranths'
Pages 39-47
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From page 39... ...
Their mild spinach-like flavor, high yields, ability to grow in hot weather, and high nutritive value have made them popular vegetable crops, perhaps the most widely eaten vegetables in the humid tropics. In some African societies, for example, protein from amaranth leaves provides as much as 25 percent of the daily protein intake during the harvest season.
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From page 40... ...
It became a more important crop in tropical Africa than anywhere else. Like corn, sweet potatoes, peanuts, and other American Indian crops, Amaranthus cruentus was evidently introduced to Africa by Europeans.
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From page 41... ...
In parts of West Africa, for instance, the tender young seedlings are pulled up by the roots and sold in town markets by the thousands of tons every year. AMARANTHUS DUBIUS This weedy species is used as a green vegetable in West Africa and the Caribbean and is found in Java and other parts of Indonesia as a home garden crop.
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From page 42... ...
Amaranthus duhius 42
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From page 43... ...
The amino acid composition of Amaranthus hybridus leaf protein shows a chemical score of 71, which is comparable to that of spinach. High levels of the nutritionally critical amino acids lysine and methionine have been found in the leaves of 13 amaranth species.t Vegetable amaranths are also an important source of vitamins, especially vitamin A, the lack of which results in a most serious nutritional deficiency in the tropics and leads to blindness in thousands of children each year.
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From page 44... ...
Amaranthus tricolor 44
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From page 45... ...
However, vegetable amaranth yields have been reported as high as 40 tons per ha. Fertilization, especially with nitrogen, is one of the major factors influencing yield, although few, if any, fertility trials have been done and there is little data for different growing regimens or locales.
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From page 46... ...
(Boiling makes amaranths nontoxic, because the oxalic acid dissolves in the water.) FORAGE The fact that boiled amaranth leaves have been an important component of the human diet in many African and southern Asian countries for centuries suggests that it might also be a useful forage crop for animals, particularly ruminants.
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From page 47... ...
The fibrous pulp left after extracting the amaranth greens is a suitable feed for animals. The protein quality of the amaranth leaf-nutrient concentrate (determined by amino acid composition, digestibility, and nutritional effectiveness)
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