Red amaranth (lal shak) is a nutritious leafy vegetable that everyone likes. It looks attractive and tastes good, and it can be grown all year round. Here are the rules for growing it.

Sandy loam to clay loam soil is suitable for red amaranth. Land where water does not stand is best for the crop.

Red amaranth can be grown throughout the year, but most of it is grown from the Bengali months of Bhadra to Poush.

Seed can be broadcast or sown in lines. Per decimal, 100 g of seed is needed for line sowing and 150 g for broadcasting; per hectare, 1-1.5 kg in lines and 2-2.5 kg broadcast. After ploughing the land well and levelling it with a ladder, mix one part seed with nine parts dry ash and broadcast it lightly. For line sowing, make furrows 15 to 20 cm apart with a stick, sow the seed 1.5 to 2.0 cm deep and cover it with soil.

Apply cow dung, urea, TSP and MoP fertilisers in suitable amounts. All the fertiliser should be mixed well into the soil before sowing.

Thin out seedlings from crowded spots. For a broadcast crop keep 100 to 140 plants per square metre; for a line-sown crop keep plants 5 cm apart in each line. Irrigating every four to five days is good, and the field should be weeded and the soil loosened on time.

Red amaranth is ready to eat 30 to 40 days after sowing. It is better to harvest gradually rather than all at once. The yield is 30-40 kg per decimal, or 5-6 tonnes per hectare.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.