Effect of Watering Regimen on Growth and Phytochemical Constituents of Amaranthus cruentus

Abstract

The phytochemical constituents of plants may be affected by the growing condition of the plant. This study investigated the influence of  different watering regimen (WR) on the phytochemical constituents of Amaranthus cruentus. The treatments were control, 2 day (2WR), 4  day (4WR), and 8 day (8WR). The vegetable was grown for 45 days and the plant parts were harvested for growth and phytochemicals analysis. The number of leaves was counted, the height was measured and the biomass was calculated. The flavonoids were determined  using Aluminum chloride colorimetry method while the phenolics were determined using Folin chiocalteu method. The results indicated  that 2WR significantly enhanced the accumulation of both flavonoids (51.03 ± 1.2 µg/g QE FW) and phenolics (84.11 ± 2.9 µg/g GAE FW) compared to other treatments. The biomass, plant height and number of leaves were higher in 2WR while 8WR have the lowest growth  measurement. These findings highlight the importance of precise water management for optimizing the phytochemicals and growth of  the plant.