Figure 4. Effect of defoliation on grain amaranth growth and yield in field.

Plants from different cultivars (Amaranteca, Dorada, Nutrisol and Revancha) were grown equally in the field and at panicle emergence were subjected to 3 defoliation treatments: control (0%), 50%, and 100% defoliation. Phenological parameters were measured at physiological maturity: A plant height; B shoot dry weight; C seed yield and D harvest index. Each bar represents the mean ± SE (n = 5). The asterisks over the bars represent statistical significance at * p = 0.05, ** p = 0.01, *** p = 0.001 for the Dunnett test.