Seed Production in Amaranthus

Following are the methods adopted for seed production of Amaranthus also called harive soppu and bhaji.

Selection

• healthy plants with good inflorescence must be selected.
  
• diseased, infested by insects , weak plants are not selected as the seeds obtained from them will be of poor quality
• care should be taken to see that weed plants are not harvested along with main plants
  

Drying

• all the unwanted leaves, branches, stem etc are trimmed & only the inflorescence is sun dried for a period of 7 to 15 days
• white or transparent plastic sheet must be used and the inflorescence must be spread out evenly on the surface
• drying process is complete when there is total discoloration of the plant. it changes from green to burnt yellow/brown color.
  

Packing and storage

• once the plant is completely dried, the seeds can be separated by threshing or beating the plant on a wooden plank or rough surface. even rubbing the inflorescence against each other dislodges the seeds
  
• the seeds are very small in size & black in color & round in shape.
• the seeds thus obtained must be kept in air tight containers & stored in a dry place.
  

Precautions and tips

• since there are 2 distinct color types, one green the other maroon, seeds of the required color plants can be obtained by not mixing the 2 while threshing, separate the green plants from the maroon plants
  
• do not keep in containers that are defective or have cracks as even a little moisture in these containers will encourage the growth of fungus & will damage the seeds
• ants & other insects can also be a problem if the storage containers are not proper. to control ants, 3 or 6 pieces of cloves can be added in the containers.
• certain chemicals like Thiram can be used for longer storage to prevent attack from insects
• the area of storage must be in a dry place, well aerated to prevent any kind of fungal attack.
• after using the seeds, the container must be closed properly,
  
• always use clean hands while handling seeds. after using any chemicals, wash hands with clean water thoroughly before handling seeds
  
  Photos and content by Pritham 'Heavy metal farmer' denzil dsouza