Amaranth: Increasing Consistency of Germination

Treatment with Zayndu’s cold plasma seed technology was found to remove 100% of seed-born fungal diseases on Amaranth seeds, boosting germination and shortening time to harvest.

Protein powerhouse

Amaranth is a protein powerhouse. It contains all nine essential amino acids and at 14% protein, it contains close to double the amount of this important nutrient found in rice and corn. Amaranth as a pseudo-cereal is also gluten-free.

The plant is a distant relation to Swiss chard and spinach and can be grown for its leaves or its grain. Each seed head can yield up to 5,000 seeds which have a nutty and malty taste.

It can also be used in processed products such as cereals and pasta.

Amaranth is attracting significant interest with climate change. It is a C4 plant – a turbo charged form of photosynthesis – so it is highly efficient at fixing carbon in high-temperature and low-moisture environments and adaptable to a wide range of growing conditions and heights.

Uses of Amaranth

Their leaves are versatile greens that can be eaten raw in a salad, added to a stir fry, soup, or put into a simmered dish such as a curry. They are very nutritious – a rich source of iron and potassium, which helps move oxygen to the brain, stimulating neural activity and cognitive function while reducing your risk of stroke.

Diseases of Amaranth

The crop is susceptible to the fungal disease Anthracnose and also to damping-off caused by Pythium, a fungi-like organism, this may occur when the seed-bed is too wet. Seeds may rot in the soil before emergence (pre-emergence damping-off) or seedlings may exhibit stem canker above the soil line and/or root necrosis.

Treatment with Activated Air

Treatment with ActivatedAir was found to remove 100% of seed-born fungal diseases on Amaranth seeds, boosting germination and shortening time to harvest.

Boosting germination

Treatment with ActivatedAir in the Zayndu system increased germination rate by 13% and the consistency. With 93% of seeds germinating within 3 days of sowing (untreated seed 45%). The entire crop is then ready for harvesting earlier.

Read our datasheet – Green Amaranth

Read our datasheet – Red Amaranth

For further details on the Aurora systems or to find out how our Activated Air treatment could impact your crops germination rates please contact us and one of our team will gladly assist.