where is amaranth grown in the world

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Where is amaranth grown?

Amaranth is traditionally a tropical plant, grown in India, south Asia, and Mexico. It needs a long season, 90 to 120 days, a fact that discourages many northern gardeners.

What country does amaranth come from?

Amaranth has a long history in Mexico and is considered a native crop in Peru. Amaranth was a major food crop of the Aztecs. Amaranth is believed to have been domesticated about 6,000 to 8,000 years ago.

Where is amaranth popular?

Amaranth grain is a popular snack sold in Mexico, sometimes mixed with chocolate or puffed rice, and its use has spread to Europe and parts of North America. It is a native species to the Andean region of South America, including Argentina, Peru and Bolivia.

Where does amaranth grow in the US?

Amaranth is common in Peru, Bolivia and Mexico, but the largest producer is China, yielding 192 million pounds per year. In the United States, about 6,000 acres have been planted in Great Plains and Midwest states – primarily the cruentus variety, which grows to seven feet.

Why was amaranth banned by the Spanish?

In the 16th century the Spanish conquistadors banned the plant's cultivation, fearing that the spiritual connection with it would stymie the establishment of Catholicism on the continent. But the Incas and Mayans continued to grow amaranth.

Is it safe to eat amaranth?

The leaves, seeds, and roots of amaranth are edible and can benefit you in maintaining good health. Its protein content and amino acid composition are somewhere in between those of cereal and a bean.

Which amaranth is not edible?

Edibility. In spite of some wild rumors, all amaranth can be eaten — even glyphosate-resistant Palmer pigweed — with a couple of caveats. For one, any plant that has been sprayed or grows in pesticide-sprayed soil will most likely absorb the toxic chemicals, making the plant itself toxic.

Why is amaranth good for you?

The nutrients in amaranth can offer significant health benefits as a part of a healthy diet. It's a source of vitamin C, which is vital to the body's healing process because it helps process iron, form blood vessels, repair muscle tissue, and maintain collagen.

What is another name for amaranth?

There are hundreds of names for the many species of amaranth, including: African spinach, bush greens, callaloo, Chinese spinach, golden grain of the Gods, Indian spinach, Joseph's coat, yin-choi and love-lies-bleeding — among many, many others.

How much does amaranth sell for?

Amaranth grown conventionally brings around $0.40 per pound, while organic amaranth may sell for $0.65 per pound or more.

Is growing amaranth profitable?

High in protein and other nutrients, amaranth is also drought-resistant and profitable, netting local farmers three to five times the profit of other locally grown grain crops.

Can you eat amaranth leaves Raw?

Fresh, tender leaves and shoots of Amaranth can be eaten raw in salads or as juice. In the mainland of China, Amaranth is known as yin-tsai. It is used in various soups and stir-fries.

Why is amaranth good for you?

The nutrients in amaranth can offer significant health benefits as a part of a healthy diet. It's a source of vitamin C, which is vital to the body's healing process because it helps process iron, form blood vessels, repair muscle tissue, and maintain collagen.

What cultures eat amaranth?

The grains have a long history of being a staple food crop of the Aztecs and Incas, Today it is still cultivated there as well as China, Nepal and some other countries. Although Amaranthus retroflexus has edible seeds, they are small and difficult to harvest.

Are amaranth and quinoa the same grain?

The amaranth grains are smaller than the grains of quinoa. Another noticeable difference is in the taste between the two. When compared to amaranth, the quinoa has a bitter taste. This biter taste is because of the saponins coating in quinoa, which is not present in amaranth.

What is amaranth used for?

Amaranth is a plant. The seed, oil, and leaf are used as food. The entire plant is used to make medicine. Amaranth is used for ulcers, diarrhea, swelling of the mouth or throat, and high cholesterol, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.

Where is amaranth grown?

In the past two decades, amaranth has begun to be grown by a much larger number of farmers around the world, in China, Russia, parts of eastern Europe, South America and is reemerging as a crop in Mexico. The attraction of the crop to both earlier civilizations and modern consumers is the highly nutritious, golden seed.

How many species of amaranth are there?

cruentus having being grown. A. caudatus is the third type of grain species. There are over 50 species in the Amaranthus genus, with several of them being weeds in the continental U.S., ...

What is amaranth used for?

The amaranth species as a group is used for a wide variety of purposes. Although the crop is used exclusively for seed production in the U.S., in other regions of the world there are many other uses. In Africa and the Caribbean, amaranth is commonly eaten as a pot herb, with individual leaves picked off the plants periodically. Farmers in China are reportedly growing over 100,000 acres of amaranth as a forage for hogs. Many amaranths have become popular ornamental plants. Thomas Jefferson is believed to have planted them along his garden paths at Monticello.

What is the crop of the Aztecs?

Late in the season, however, there is no mistaking this striking, tall crop which develops brilliantly colored grain heads producing thousands of tiny seeds. Amaranth was a major food of the Aztecs and earlier American cultures, having been domesticated thousands of years ago.

What would happen if the market demand for amaranth was larger?

Markets and Economics. If the market demand for amaranth were larger, there would be thousands of farmers growing it at its current price. It is very easy to show on paper how to make a profit growing amaranth, but much harder to market a large quantity of seed into the small but growing health food market.

How deep should I plant amaranth?

Amaranth should be planted about 1/2 inch deep. Row widths of 30 inches have been the standard with amaranth trials in Missouri. The crop shades the ground well at this row spacing, and the wide rows allow a row crop cultivator to be used for weed control.

What color are amaranths?

Grain amaranths vary in flower, leaf, and stem color, but maroon or crimson coloring is common in all three plant parts. Some varieties have green flowers, and some are more golden. Some of the deep crimson varieties can be very striking when in full bloom. A few small clusters of flowers may occur at the first few leaf axils below the head.

Where is amaranth grown?

Amaranth is an 8,000-year-old pseudocereal – not a grain, but a seed, like quinoa and buckwheat – indigenous to Mesoamerica, but also grown in China, India, south-east Asia, west Africa and the Caribbean. Before the Spanish arrived in the Americas, the Aztecs and Maya cultivated amaranth as an excellent source of proteins, but also for ceremonial purposes. When Spanish conquistadors arrived on the continent in the 16th century, they threatened to cut off the hands of anyone who grew the crop, fearing that the Indigenous Americans’ spiritual connection to plants and the land might undermine Christianity. Yet, farmers continued secretly growing amaranth, which sprouted up like a weed in their fields – even as far north as the modern-day United States.

How many seeds does an amaranth plant produce?

A single amaranth plant produces hundreds of seeds – something that the farmers of Qachuu Aloom celebrated when the small handful of seeds Magaly Salazar sequestered away turned into hundred-pound bags of harvest the next season.

What is the name of the candy factory in Mexico City that uses amaranth to make skulls?

A worker in the candy factory Dulceria Juanita in Mexico City uses amaranth to form skulls that will be decorated with sweets for Día de los Muertos on 10 October. Photograph: Carlos Tischler/Eyepix Group/Pacific Press/REX/Shutterstock

Why is amaranth important to Guatemala?

For many Indigenous farmers in Guatemala and the United States, growing amaranth has provided a degree of economic independence, but it has also offered a route to food sovereignty.

Where are Salazar's seeds grown?

At one point, Montgomery overheard one of the women say, “We had no idea that what happened to us was happening to other people.” Today, Salazar’s seeds are growing in hundreds of Guatemalan gardens – Qachuu Aloom has grown to include more than 400 families from 24 Guatemalan villages – as well as in Tsosie-Peña’s yard and a public garden in northern New Mexico.

Is amaranth a food?

Since the 1970s, amaranth has become a billion-dollar food – and cosmetic – product. Health conscious shoppers embracing ancient grains will find it in growing numbers of grocery stores in the US, or in snack bars across Mexico, and, increasingly, in Europe and the Asia Pacific. As a complete protein with all nine essential amino acids, amaranth is a highly nutritious source of manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, iron and antioxidants that may improve brain function and reduce inflammation.

Where did amaranth originate?

I. History: Amaranth, an ancient crop originating in the Americas, can be used as a high-protein grain or as a leafy vegetable, and has potential as a forage crop. Grain amaranth species have been important in different parts of the world and at different times for several thousand years.

How tall is an amaranth plant?

Grain amaranth plants are about five to seven feet tall when mature, and are dicots (broadleaf) plants with thick, tough stems similar to sunflower. The tiny, lens-shaped seeds are one millimeter in diameter and usually white to cream-colored, while the seeds of the pigweed are dark-colored and lighter in weight.

What are the two species of amaranth?

The two species of grain amaranth commonly grown in the U.S. are Amaranthus cruentus and Amaranthus hypochondriacus. Grain amaranths are related to redroot pigweed, but are different species with different characteristics and have not become weeds in fields where they have been grown.

How much protein is in amaranth leaves?

The leaves, stem and head are high in protein (15-24% on a dry matter basis). A Minnesota study (1 year) on amaranth forage indicated a yield potential of 4-5 tons/acre dry matter, with crude protein of the whole plant at 19% (late vegetative stage) to 11-12% (maturity) on a dry basis.

Why is amaranth considered a good food?

One of the reasons there has been recent interest in amaranth is because of its useful nutritional qualities. The grain has 12 to 17% protein, and is high in lysine, an essential amino acid in which cereal crops are low. Amaranth grown at Arlington, WI in 1978 had protein levels of 16.6 to 17.5%. The grain is high in fiber and low in saturated fats, factors which contribute to its use by the health food market. Recent studies have linked amaranth to reduction in cholesterol in laboratory animals.

How many amaranth seeds per acre?

An optimum plant population has not been established, but one-half to two pounds of seed per acre is considered suitable (approximately 600,000 seeds per pound). Row spacing should be based on the cultivator equipment available. A number of planter types have been used successfully to deal with the small seeds of amaranth. Approaches that have proven successful include: using a vegetable planter with a small plate appropriate for carrots or celery; installing special amaranth seed plates in a sugar beet planter; using the in-furrow insecticide application equipment as a planter; or using a standard grain drill. Grain drills are not recommended due to problems in controlling seeding rate and depth, but they can be used if the amaranth seeds are diluted with a "carrier" like ground corn. A mixture suitable for drilling consists of one-half pound of amaranth with four and one-half pounds of ground corn. Set the drill for a seeding rate of five pounds per acre.

What pH is amaranth?

Little data are currently available on the pH and fertility requirements of amaranth. Amaranth is adapted to soils that are slightly acidic to slightly basic (pH 6.5 to 7.5). Consideration of the pH requirement of rotational crops should also influence the lime recommendation for amaranth.

How long has amaranth been around?

Amaranth has been a staple in the Americas for thousands of years, first collected as wild food, and then domesticated multiple times beginning about 6,000 years ago. The edible parts are the seeds, which are consumed whole toasted or milled into flour. Other uses of amaranth include animal forage, textile dyeing, and ornamental purposes.

Where did amaranth seeds come from?

The earliest evidence of domesticated amaranth in the New World consists of seeds from Peñas de la Cruz, a mid-Holocene rock shelter in Argentina. The seeds were found in several stratigraphic levels dated between 7910 and 7220 years ago (BP). In Central America, domesticated amaranth seeds were recovered from Coxcatlan cave in the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico, in contexts dated to 4000 BCE, or about 6000 BP. Later evidence, such as caches with charred amaranth seeds, has been found throughout the southwest United States and the Hopewell culture of the U.S. Midwest.

Why is amaranth important?

However, today amaranth is an important cereal because it is gluten-free and contains about twice the crude protein of wheat, rice, ...

How are amaranth seeds collected?

Like other grains, amaranth seeds are collected by rubbing the inflorescences between the hands.

Where are cruentus native to?

The most widespread species are A. cruentus and A. hypochondriacus native to North and Central America, and A. caudatus, from South America. Amaranthus cruentus, and A. hypochondriacus are native of Mexico and Guatemala. A. cruentus is used in Mexico to produce typical sweets called alegría, in which the amaranth grains are toasted ...

What is the use of amaranth?

Other uses of amaranth include animal forage, textile dyeing, and ornamental purposes. Amaranth is a plant of the family of Amaranthaceae. About 60 species are native to the Americas, and only 15 are the species originally from Europe, Africa, and Asia. The most widespread species are A. cruentus and A.

Why did the Spanish ban amaranth?

The Spanish banished the crop because of its religious importance and use in ceremonies that the newcomers were trying to extirpate. Edited and updated by K. Kris Hirst.

Where does Amaranth come from?

Amaranthus spp. Amaranthus or amaranth is a group of plants belonging to the genus Amaranthus. Amaranth originates from America but grows now in most warm climates. Seeds of Amaranth can be eaten as a grain. In that case they are called pseudograins or pseudocereals. However, most Amaranth species are grown as leaf vegetables or as ornamental ...

What is amaranth used for?

Uses: Some species of Amaranth are grown for their seeds, which can be eaten as a grain. But because Amaranth does not belong to the grasses family, it is called a pseudograin or pseudocereal. Many other species are grown as a leafy vegetable. The leaves are cooked as a type of spinach or can be used in salads.

How long to steam amaranth leaves?

Then add oyster sauce and sugar. Cover with a lid and let it steam for one or two minutes. Mix cornflour with 2 tablespoons of cold water and stir this into the amaranth liquid until it boils and thickens.

What color are amaranth leaves?

Amaranth leaves can be green, red or purple, depending on the species and variety. Of some species the leaves are eaten as a vegetable.

Is Amaranthus a weed?

Several Amaranthus species are grown as ornamental plants in gardens. Note that in some cases Amaranthus spp. are considered a weed.

Can amaranth be eaten as a grain?

Seeds of Amaranth can be eaten as a grain. In that case they are called pseudograins or pseudocereals. However, most Amaranth species are grown as leaf vegetables or as ornamental plants. For example in Bangladesh, the red amaranth is grown in many homestead gardens and eaten as a type of red spinach.

What is the most common amaranth plant?

There are many varieties of amaranth plants, yet the ones commonly grown for grain are the Prince’s Feather (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) and Red Amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus).

How long does it take for amaranth to grow?

Once planted, amaranth seeds will germinate in 3-10 days and seedlings will appear to grow slowly. When the plant reaches 1 foot tall, then it will start to grow rapidly in height and produce beautiful flowers. The grains will be ready to harvest in the fall once the flowers are brown and dry.

How much sun does Amaranth need?

Amaranth needs full sunlight, with a minimum of 6-8 hours. The USDA growing zone ranges from 3-10. The ideal temperature for germination is 65-85 degrees Fahrenheit. When young, this crop is not tolerant of cold temperatures and is susceptible to spring frosts, whereas mature plants can tolerate the first frost of the fall. This plant loves hot temperatures and can tolerate heat up to 95-100 degrees Fahrenheit.

How tall is Amaranth?

Amaranth plants have a wide range of heights from 2-8 feet tall! The stalks that form from the main taproot are sturdy and tough. The leaves are broad, with long, narrow, bushy flowers that range in color from burgundy to golden yellow or green. Tiny seeds will develop on the flower head, which ranges 4-12 inches long.

When is amaranth ready to harvest?

The grains will be ready to harvest in the fall once the flowers are brown and dry. The young tender leaves of Amaranthus cruentus are edible and can be used as a replacement for leaf greens, or mature leaves can be sauteed. Amaranth is a highly nutritious food with gluten-free seeds that are packed with protein.

What are the different types of amaranths?

There are so many fun varieties of amaranthus to grow in your garden! There are the long flowing flowers of Coral Fountain (Amaranthus caudatus), the multicolored Joseph’s Coat (Amaranthus tricolor), or the large flowers of the Elephant Head (Amaranthus gangeticus). It is easy to get lost when you search all the amazing heirloom varieties. I have a hard time choosing which amaranth seed I want to plant first!

Why thin out amaranth seedlings?

You can also thin out the seedlings to encourage more airflow and make sure your planting containers are sanitized. Root rot can also impact the growth of your amaranth. This is typically caused by overly wet conditions, and can easily be remedied in the future by ensuring your soil is well-draining.

Where does Amaranth grow?

Growing Amaranth: The Complete Guide to Plant, Grow, & Harvest Amaranth. Ame lives off-the-grid on her beautiful farm in Falmouth, Kentucky. She has been gardening organically for over 30 years and has grown vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers, and ornamentals.

What soil is best for amaranth?

Soil Requirements. Amaranth is flexible when it comes to soil but prefers well-drained earth with a pH between 6.0 to 7.5 , so spread some cottonseed meal or coffee grounds in the row where you are going to plant. If you can, it’s best to do this in the fall before spring planting.

How much sun does an amaranth plant need?

Growing amaranth plants need full sun with at least 6 hours per day .

What causes a bump on the root of an amaranth plant?

These microscopic worm-shaped invertebrates are parasites that eat your plant’s roots. As they munch down on your plant, they excrete an enzyme which causes swelling . This is the bump or gall you may see on plant roots. You can buy organic soil soaks that contain saponins to kill the nematodes.

Why is amaranth considered an ancient grain?

You often hear amaranth called an ancient grain because it was once grown and harvested by Aztec and Inca civilizations. Technically, while we think of amaranth as one, it’s not related to true grains such as corn or wheat.

What is it called when leaves are rolled up on an amaranth?

If you notice folded or rolled leaves on your amaranth, you may have leafrollers. This caterpillar creates nests inside leaves by rolling up the plant with silk. Cut off infected leaves.

Is amaranth related to wheat?

Technically, while we think of amaranth as one, it’s not related to true grains such as corn or wheat. Amaranth is related to spinach and swiss chard. I first started growing amaranth because I was taking the plant’s vibrant red flowers to the farmers market.

Overview

Production Guide

Utilization

• The amaranth species as a group is used for a wide variety of purposes. Although the crop is used exclusively for seed production in the U.S., in other regions of the world there are many other uses. In Africa and the Caribbean, amaranth is commonly eaten as a pot herb, with individual leaves picked off the plants periodically. Farmers in China are...

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Markets and Economics

How to Grow Grain Amaranth

Pest Management

Harvest and Storage