Abstract
This article explores the response of three genotypes of Amaranthus to different sowing date and to different doses of nitrogen (N) fertilization. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with three replicates for cultivars, planting date and fertilization per treatment. Mexicano sown in early December had the best yield (5285 kg ha-1) with highly significant differences (p < 0.001) respect to Dorado and Antorcha. To assess the N fertilization Mexicano cultivar was sown at the end of spring (1 December). Morphophysiological variables increased as the N fertilization dose was raised. Higher doses of N fertilizer resulted in greater economic yields this was mainly due to the increase in grain number rather than that of a 1000 grain weight. The results of this investigation suggest that sowing Amaranthus cruentus cv Mexicano on 1 December with 150 kg N ha−1 favors its general development and allows to obtain high economic and biological yields with an appropriate protein content.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Universidad Nacional de Santa Rosa for having donated the genetic material used in the assay; the Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Valle Inferior del Río Negro for the possibility to conduct this study; the Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, the Universidad Nacional del Sur, and CONICET for technical and professional support. Dr. Donald F. Haggerty, a retired career investigator and native English speaker, translated the original manuscript from Spanish into English and for Drs. Juan Martín Traverso, Marta Zubillaga y Mercedes Zubillaga for edited this work its final English version.