Effects of soil types and fertilizers on growth, yield, and quality of edible Amaranthus tricolor lines in Okinawa, Japan

Figures & data

Table 1. Mineral contents (mg kg⁻¹) and percent of total N and C in gray, dark red, and red soils in Okinawa, Japan.

Soil types	Na (mg kg^−1)	K (mg kg^−1)	Ca (mg kg^−1)	Mg (mg kg^−1)	Al (mg kg^−1)	Fe (mg kg^−1)	P (mg kg^−1)	pH	N %	C %
Gray	3.59c	2.96a	24.30b	1.53b	0.04a	0.19b	0.06a	8.4	0.12a	1.80a
Dark red	7.34a	1.29b	8.78c	1.84a	0.00b	0.00b	0.00c	6.6	0.08b	0.26b
Red	4.51b	0.33c	29.50a	1.26c	0.04a	0.30a	0.01b	5.4	0.03c	0.11c

Data are means of three replications. Data with the same letters within each column are not significantly different at the 5% level, as determined by LSD test.

Figure 1. Growth of amaranth 4 lines in red soil, dark red soil, and gray soil in Okinawa at 34 days after seed sowing (DAS).

Figure 2. Plant height (A), leaf number (B), leaf area (C), and dry shoot weight (D) of 35-day-old plants of amaranth lines grown in different soils. Bars with the same letter are not significantly different within each line at the 5% level, as determined by LSD test.

Table 2. Various nutrient contents (mg g DW⁻¹) and percent of total N and C in edible shoot of amaranth plants of 4 lines cultivated in gray, dark red, and red soils in Okinawa.

		Na	K	Ca	Mg	Al	Fe	P
Line	Soil	mg g DW^−1	mg g DW^−1	mg g DW^−1	mg g DW^−1	mg g DW^−1	mg g DW^−1	mg g DW^−1	N %	C %
IB	Gray	6.68b	223a	132a	56a	7.95a	2.27b	11.6a	1.47b	37.2c
	Dark red	7.48b	51b	86b	31c	4.58b	4.69a	13.2a	1.76a	39.1a
	Red	16.05a	51b	116a	43b	2.16c	1.07c	11.2a	1.45b	38.1b
TW	Gray	8.13b	263a	148a	56a	3.39a	1.20b	15.8a	1.90b	36.6c
	Dark red	11.80b	68b	108b	42b	3.66a	4.34a	18.0a	2.14a	37.8a
	Red	21.75a	69b	141a	43b	1.83b	1.34b	12.9b	2.18a	37.1b
BB	Gray	8.84b	262a	169a	64a	11.50a	2.02b	14.0b	1.56b	36.3b
	Dark red	17.93a	65b	107b	36c	8.11b	5.75a	18.2a	2.31a	36.9a
	Red	15.53a	73b	147a	44b	1.71c	1.08b	13.3b	1.76b	37.2a
BC	Gray	9.16c	205a	107a	62a	11.80a	1.57b	12.8a	1.29b	37.2c
	Dark red	12.80b	29b	55b	35b	10.57a	5.88a	10.9b	1.53a	37.9b
	Red	20.80a	33b	93a	31b	2.78b	3.03b	10.7b	1.30b	38.2a

Notes: IB, India Bengal line; TW, Taiwan line; BB, Bangladesh B line; BC, Bangladesh C line. Data with the same letter within each column for each line are not significantly different at the 5% level, as determined by LSD test. DW represents dry weight.

Figure 3. Effects of nitrogen rates and NPK combined fertilizer {CONT (control, 0 g m⁻²), LN (low nitrogen, 50 g N m⁻² or 5 g N planter⁻¹), HN (high nitrogen, 100 g N m⁻² or 10 g N planter⁻¹), and NPK (150 g NPK m⁻² or 5 g N + 5 g P + 5 g K planter⁻¹)} on growth of 35-day-old amaranth BB line plants grown in gray soil, dark red soil, and red soil.

Figure 4. Effects of various rates of fertilizer {CONT (control, 0 g m⁻²), LN (low nitrogen, 50 g N m⁻² or 5 g N planter⁻¹), HN (high nitrogen, 100 g N m⁻² or 10 g N planter⁻¹), and NPK (150 g NPK m⁻² or 5 g N + 5 g P + 5 g K planter⁻¹)} on plant height (A), stem diameter (B), leaf number (C), total leaf area (D), dry leaf weight (E), and dry shoot weight (F) of amaranth BB line plants grown in gray soil, dark red soil and red soil. Bars with the same letter within each soil type are not significantly different at the 5% level, as determined by LSD test.

Table 3. Effects of fertilizers on nutrient contents (mg g DW⁻¹) and percent of total N and C in edible shoot of amaranth BB line grown in gray, dark red, and red soils.

Soil type	Treatment	Na (mg g DW^−1)	K (mg g DW^−1)	Ca (mg g DW^−1)	Mg (mg g DW^−1)		Al (mg g DW^−1)	Fe (mg g DW^−1)		P (mg g DW^−1)	Mn (mg g DW^−1)	Zn (mg g DW^−1)	N %	C %
Gray	Cont	9.63b	128a	107b	65b	3.10a		0.04a	4.4b		1.90a	0.80ab	2.33c	36.0b
	LN	9.11b	160a	129ab	74ab	3.20a		0.07a	5.0b		1.89a	0.88a	4.66b	37.7a
	HN	9.08b	172a	111b	80a	3.06a		0.08a	5.0b		1.90a	0.66b	4.72b	37.4a
	NPK	11.30a	126a	147a	79a	3.41a		0.07a	6.8a		1.87a	0.75ab	5.25a	37.4a
Dark red
	NPK	11.60	89	75	31	3.38		0.32	7.6		0.25	1.25	5.14	38.5
Red
	NPK	15.90	56	175	58	1.81		0.26	7.4		1.68	0.81	4.78	38.4

Notes: Data with the same letter within each column are not significantly different at the 5% level, as determined by LSD test. Data were not recorded for the control, LN and HN in Dar-red soil and Red soil due to poor growth of plants (sample not enough). DW represents dry weight.

Table 4. Effects of NPK combined fertilizer rates on growth parameters and yield of BB and BC amaranth lines grown in gray soil field.

Line	Fertilizer level (g m^−2)	Stem diameter (mm)	Internode length (cm)	Largest leaf area (cm^2 leaf^−1)	Total leaf area (cm^2 plant^−1)	Dry leaf weight (g plant^−1)	Dry stem weight (g plant^−1)	Dry shoot weight (g plant^−1)
BB	0	3.7d	0.9c	23c	83c	0.2d	0.2c	0.4c
	20	5.0cd	1.5bc	34bc	107bc	0.4cd	1.4bc	1.8bc
	30	6.0abc	2.2ab	44ab	163ab	0.6bc	3.0ab	3.6ab
	40	5.8bc	2.4a	47ab	165ab	0.7ab	4.1a	4.8a
	50	7.3a	2.4a	56a	204a	0.9a	4.5a	5.4a
BC	0	3.1b	0.7b	14b	45b	0.2b	0.4b	0.6b
	20	5.4a	1.6a	28a	105a	0.5a	1.3a	1.8a
	30	5.6a	2.0a	31a	109a	0.5a	1.6a	2.1a
	40	5.2a	1.8a	31a	114a	0.4a	1.5a	1.9a
	50	5.5a	1.8a	32a	127a	0.5a	1.6a	2.1a

Note: Data with the same letter within each column for each line are not significantly.

Different at the 5% level, as determined by LSD test.

Table 5. Effects of NPK combined fertilizer rates on nutrient status (mg g DW⁻¹) and percent of total N and C in edible shoot of amaranth BB and BC lines grown in gray soil field.

	Fertilizer level (g m^−2)	Na (mg g DW^−1)		K (mg g DW^−1)	Ca (mg g DW^−1)	Mg (mg g DW^−1)	Al (mg g DW^−1)	Fe (mg g DW^−1)	P (mg g DW^−1)	Mn (mg g DW^−1)	Zn (mg g DW^−1)
Line												N %	C %
BB	0		9.36a	221b	105a	42a	8.56a	7.60a	20.7ab	0.24a	0.76a	3.11b	34.0a
	20		8.56ab	248b	95b	33b	4.12b	3.72b	18.2bc	0.16a	0.72a	3.66ab	34.9a
	30		8.52ab	259b	94b	42a	3.96b	3.48b	17.6c	0.16a	0.76a	4.08a	34.7a
	40		8.04b	245b	91b	35b	3.84b	3.44b	17.4c	0.16a	1.04a	4.04a	34.6a
	50		7.68b	338a	100ab	31b	2.92b	1.88c	21.4a	0.16a	0.88a	3.57ab	34.7a
BC	0		13.76a	231b	108a	60a	7.60a	3.24a	29.8a	0.16a	0.80a	4.27c	35.1a
	20		12.52bc	236b	91b	49b	2.88b	1.56b	22.2b	0.12a	0.64a	4.79b	35.3a
	30		11.60c	253a	66c	47b	2.20b	0.96c	20.2b	012a	0.60a	4.75b	34.9a
	40		12.96b	253a	91b	49b	2.76b	1.44bc	21.0b	0.12a	0.60a	4.78b	35.3a
	50		12.84b	233b	91b	46b	2.64b	1.24bc	19.0b	0.12a	0.64a	5.45a	34.2a

Note: Data with the same letter within each column for each line are not significantly different at the 5% level, as determined by LSD test. DW represents dry weight.