Trial: Annual
Years Trialed: 2001
Good Qualities
Nice color (2); None (2); Excellent color, dramatic size (42 inches); Nice form; Nice "user friendly" amaranth, good head form; Produced very well.
Problems
Too short (2); Lays along ground, not upright (2); Insect damage (2); The plants were very variable, some grew to 14; others were shorter, a few taller – novelty; Seedling flats showed distorted new growth, looks like broad mite damage but no sign of mites, may be related to over-fertilization?; Turned brown; no harvestable stems; Poor germination.
Comments
Upper foliage of (probably problem w/pH and Ca) most plants "crinkled" and not expanding; Plants attacked by a beetle or caterpillars - skeletonized plants but they were pretty well harvested by that point.
Trial Data
| Yield (stems/plant)¹ | Stem Length (inches)¹ | Market Appreciation Rating² | Repeat Again Rating² | Ease of Cultivation Rating² | Average Spacing (in2) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale | Retail | Consumer | ||||||
| Average | 2.2 | 28.4 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 170 |
| Range of Responses | 0-6 | 15-42 | 1-4 | 1-4 | 1-45 | 1-5 | 1-5 | 36-432 |
¹Data shown are from those respondents who harvested stems. Some respondents may not have harvested stems because they were too short. Flowering stems may be longer next year after plants are established. See comments section for more details.
²1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.
Supplier
Kieft Seeds P.O. Box 618 Conway, WA 98238
