Populations of amaranthus (
Amaranthus
sp.) obtained from a physical-genetic admixture were studied to identify the best performing cultivars and determine the most important yield components. Most of the characters showed significant differences. Entries 15 and 29 performed best with entry 29 having the highest total green leaf yield. Significant correlations (P<0.01) were found between days to germination, to first harvest, days to second and third harvest, number of harvests, second and third harvest yield, with total yield. Path analysis revealed that second harvest yield makes the largest direct effect and had the highest significant (P<0.01) correlation with total yield. Number of harvests made the largest indirect effect on yield. It is clear that improvement of yield of leafy amaranthus can be achieved through increasing the frequency of harvests and yield in each harvest. Principle component analysis came to a similar conclusion.
