Quality studies on cultivated Amaranthus species grown as green fodder. I.
1991
Vetter, J. | Szocs, Z. (Allatorvostud. Egyet. (Hungary). Novenytani Tansz)
In Hungary, as in the whole of Eurasia, the best-known species belonging to the Amaranthus genus are weeds (e.g. A. retroflexus), a few species are grown as ornamentals, but this genus also contains a number of old crop plants. Studies were made on various quality parameters in A. cruentus, A. hybridum, A. blitum, A. lividus, A. edulis, A. hypochondriacus, A. tricolor and A. caudatus convar. gibbosus, all of which are suitable for use as green fodder. There is no climatic obstacle to their production, they are not fussy about the type of soil, they require little fertilization and are drought tolerant. The dry matter content of the whole plant ranges from 10-15 o/o. The highest percentage of dry matter is to be found in the leaves (16-18 o/o), while the stalk contains 8-10 o/o on average. The mass of the stalk is 1.1-1.85 times that of the leaves. The crude protein and crude fibre contents are similar to those of silage maize and Sudan grass, but the crude fat content is lower. The macroelement content (K, Ca, P, Mg) is satisfactory.
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