Weevil-fungus interaction on Amaranthus hybridus (Amaranthaceae) in South Africa

Amaranth (Amaranthus spp., Amaranthaceae) is a potentially valuable food crop, with both seed (Early 1985) and vegetable (Stallknecht & Schultz-Schaeffer 1991) varieties offering excellent possibilities for improving human nutrition, especially in impoverished semi-arid regions. Increasing interest in amaranth is ascribed to its high protein and mineral content, C4 photosynthetic pathway, high genetic diversity and phenotypic plasticity, and high degree of drought tolerance (Dowton 1972; Hauptli 1977; Jain et al. 1979; Kaufmann & Haas 1983). Studies to elucidate the biotic and abiotic factors that could affect successful cultivation of amaranth as a crop in South Africa were initiated during 1995.