Tendencias evolutivas en amartanto ( Amaranthus spp.) bajo selección humana en México

An inventory of species and races of amaranth greens (quintoniles) was made in the Sierra Norte de Puebla, Mexico. Their use, management and importance to the local residents were studied as well as the biological patterns of allocation of biomass and morphophysiological variation. The purpose of this work was to 1] study the biological richness of the species and races of greens-producing amaranth in this region and 2] study their evolutionary trends under human selection as compared with the species and races of grain-produdng amaranth. The promoted species and races are: A. hypochondriacus Mixteco and Azteca races ("chichiquelit") and A. cruentus Mexicano ("iztaquelit") and Africano ("quintonil rojo") races. The agrestal species are A. hybridus and A. spinosus. Three allocation patterns were found: a] grain producing races, b] greens-producing races and c] greens producing races which showed weedy growth characteristics. The results obtained suggest that there are two pathways for Amaranthus domestication, one associated to produce leaves as greens and another associated to the use of seeds as grain.