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Morphological characterization of plant genetic resources generates important information for plant breeders useful for pre-breeding and breeding programmes of crops. Amaranthus is one of the underutilized and genetically potential orphan crops grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. It is a food security crop that can alleviate malnutrition and generate income for the rural communities in South Africa. A number of Amaranthus species have been collected from different regions in the world and conserved in the gene bank of the Agricultural Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa. The objective of the study was to assess the genetic diversity of these conserved Amaranthus species using qualitative morphological characters. Thirty two species of Amaranthus were evaluated for 16 qualitative morphological characters in the field using a randomized complete block design with three replications. The frequencies for each qualitative character were tabulated. The Shannon Weaver diversity index (HI) was calculated and the result revealed a low to high diversity among the collection regions for the traits. The result of the study showed that the HI for all the species varied from 0.28 to 0.70, indicating the existence of a wide genetic diversity among species evaluated. The information obtained in this study could be used for the genetic improvement of Amaranthus species in South Africa for the development of cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine the availability of, access to and nutrition-related uses of African leafy vegetables in rural and urban households; and to determine the β-carotene content of the dominant African leafy vegetable. Design: The study consisted of a qualitative explorative phase (field walks, semi-structured interviews with key informants, focus group discussions) at two rural sites; and a quantitative household survey (questionnaire) at two rural and one urban site. Amaranth leaves were analysed for β-carotene content. Setting and subjects: The household survey included households at a rural site in Limpopo province (n = 100); and a rural (n = 101) and urban (n = 391) site in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. Results: A variety of edible plants were identified during field walks at the two rural sites. Focus group discussions narrowed this down to ten plants at the rural Limpopo site and six at the rural KwaZulu-Natal site. The most popular leaves were amaranth (Amaranthus spp), spider plant (Cleome gynandra), wild watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) and blackjack (Bidens spinosa), consumed individually or mixed with other leaves. Rural households procured leaves mostly from the wild whereas urban households relied more on informal markets. In Limpopo, leaves were dried and stored for consumption during winter. KwaZulu-Natal households considered African leafy vegetables food for the poor. Leaves were boiled in salted water, or steamed and then fried in oil. Fried and boiled amaranth leaves contained 627 and 429 μg retinol activity equivalents/100 g respectively. Conclusions: Availability of, access to and nutrition-related uses of African leafy vegetables are context-specific, with inter- and intraprovincial rural/urban differences. Information collected during small studies within a specific area can therefore not be generalised for the overall South-African population. Amaranth can potentially contribute significantly to vitamin A requirements of nutritionally vulnerable communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous leafy vegetables can play an important part in alleviating hunger and malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa, but they are often neglected in research. They are important sources of micronutrients including vitamins A and C, iron and other nutrients and are sometimes better nutritional sources than the modern vegetables. The leaves of cultivated plants, such as pumpkins, melons and cowpeas are used as a leafy vegetable, as well as leaves from wild and weedy species from farmers' fields and the veld. These wild and weedy species include amaranth species, Corchorus species and Cleome gynandra amongst others, and all have the potential to be cultivated. The harvested leafy vegetables are perishable, but can be processed and preserved by partial cooking, blanching or drying. This paper provides ecogeographical information and some botanical descriptions; we discuss the importance of leafy vegetables in food security, the monetary value of some of these crops and report on some of the research carried out at ARC-Roodeplaat (Pretoria), South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]