Mean performance of grain Amaranthus genotypes under different seasonal conditions in Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh

Introduction

Amaranthus, a highly nutritious leafy and pseudocereal grain crop, belongs to the family Amaranthaceae and reported as highly cross pollinated crop. It has gained renewed attention as a promising food crop due to its resistance to heat, drought, diseases, and pests. Additionally, its unique C-4 metabolic pathway contributes to its wide adaptability across diverse environmental conditions (Kaul et al. 1996) [5] . The Himalayan region is considered as the center of diversity for this crop, and it is mainly grown for grain production in Uttarakhand. Cultivation of Amaranthus has also expanded in parts of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh, contributing to nutritional security in these areas. This crop has the potential to increase production with limited inputs and can thrive across a wide range of agro-ecological zones (Jangir et al. 2019) [3] . Despite the introduction of various strains through collection and selection programs, there is a lack of comprehensive evaluation studies on yield, attributing traits, and qualitative parameters across different seasons (Shukla and Singh 2003) [14] . In the context of climate change and the growing expansion of arid areas worldwide, farmers are increasingly seeking crops with nutritional benefits that require minimal inputs. Such crops can be utilized in multiple ways and can grow alongside other crops, helping to enhance productivity in dry areas, where irrigation is limited. Recognizing the significance of nutritious crops like Amaranthus and the need to promote their cultivation across different regions of the country, an experiment was conducted to evaluate both the quantitative and qualitative traits of various grain Amaranthus varieties. The study aimed to assess these traits across multiple seasons to better understand their performance under varying environmental conditions. This research is essential for identifying the most suitable varieties for different agro-ecological zones, thereby contributing to improved crop productivity and nutritional security.

Results and Discussion

The data analysis of grain Amaranthus under dryland condition during the Kharif and Rabi seasons of the year 2018-19, revealed significant variability in growth, yield, and quality across genotypes, were shown in Table - The Amaranthus genotypes are an excellent source of protein, particularly due to their high content of essential amino acids, especially lysine and methionine. The higher percentage of bran fraction in Amaranthus contributes to its elevated protein levels. It is considered a complete protein, as it contains all nine essential amino acids. The plant height is considered as one of the important trait for growth and vigour of the plant. In present experiment, the genotypes exhibited significant differences for the plant height at different stages of the growth in both the seasons. The genotypes perform better during the Rabi season, compared to the Kharif season, primarily due to the favourable environmental conditions and the drought tolerance nature of the genotypes. The grain yield is a complex quantitative trait, considerably influenced by several factors. The grain yield is increased as the yield attributing traits like inflorescence length, number of branches and plant height increased. Plant height, days to maturity, days to flowering, and length of inflorescence were also recognized as key direct drivers of grain output investigations. This is in agreement with the findings of Kandel et al. (2021) [4] . The similar findings with growth parameters were also confirmed by Koppa et al. (1997) [6] for plant height and grain yield. Wu et al. (2000) [16] for plant height, maturity duration, thousand grain weight and grain yield. Schahbazian et al. (2006) [13] for grain yield and protein content of grains. Gimplinger et al. (2007) [1] for germination percentage, time from sowing to harvest, thousand seed weight and protein content of grains. Gimplinger et al. (2008) [2] for plant height. Rivelli et al.

(2008) [12] for grain yield. Manikandan and Srimathi (2015) [9] and Mbwambo et al. (2015) [10] for grain yield over the two seasons. Lokeshkumar and Murthy (2017) [8] for grain yield. Panda et al. (2017) [11] for plant height, leaf length and leaf breadth. Kumar and Yassin (2018) [7] for grain yield and protein content. Tiwari et al. (2018) [15] for plant height and grain yield under rainfed condition. Yadav (2018) [17] for days to 50% flowering, maturity duration and thousand grain weight.

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