Genetic interrelationship among nutritional and quantitative traits in the vegetable amaranth

The present investigation was conducted to elucidate the interrelationship among various agronomic and quality traits and their direct and indirect effect on foliage yield in 39 distinct cultivars of vegetable amaranth (A. tricolor). Among the agronomic traits, plant height and number of inflorescence exhibited significant positive association with foliage yield, while chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, carotenoid, fiber and ascorbic acid were positively correlated with foliage yield. Chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b exhibited significant positive association with carotenoid, fiber and ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid was positively correlated with fiber and carotenoid. Protein was associated with plant height, branches per plant and 500 seed weight. Chlorophyll a, carotenoid and inflorescence length revealed high positive direct effect on foliage yield, while branches plant-1, leaf size, seed yield, chlorophyll b, moisture content and ascorbic acid showed negative path coefficient with foliage yield. Suitable traits have been marked out to enhance foliage yield in vegetable amaranth.