Standardization of optimum sieve size for maximizing seed quality in Amaranthus (Amaranthus tricolor L.) Pavithra M* Department of Seed Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore -641003 (Tamil Nadu), India J. Renugadevi Department of Seed Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore -641003 (Tamil Nadu), India R. Swarna Priya Department of Vegetable Science, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore - 641003 (Tamil Nadu), India R. Vigneshwari Department of Seed Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore -641003 (Tamil Nadu), India *Corresponding author. Email: paviuvassri@gmail.com Article Info https://doi.org/10.31018/ jans.v13i4.3052 Received: September 22, 2021 Revised: November 7, 2021 Accepted: November 11, 2021 This work is licensed under Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). © : Author (s). Publishing rights @ ANSF. 1326 - 1331 ISSN : 0974-9411 (Print), 2231-5209 (Online) journals.ansfoundation.org Research Article INTRODUCTION Amaranthus belongs to the family Amaranthaceae and is a native to North America, comes under the group of C4 plant and is distinguished by its high photosynthesis productivity. It is also known as pseudo cereals and pigweeds, It possesses three times the calcium and vitamin B of spinach leaves, as well as twenty times the iron of lettuce (Bradtke, 2013). Hence, it is known as "Poor Man's Spinach”. In Mexico, Amaranthus seeds are used to make "Alegria", known as popcorn cookies. Chandraprakash et al., (2019) indicated that when the weight of the seed in castor drops, the oil and protein content reduces. According to Shevtsova and Krol (1976), the seeds produced at different positionwould influence the yield and the quality of the produced seeds. Seeds harvest- ed from central umbels produced productive plant in carrot. Due to indeterminate flowering behaviour of Amaranthus tricolor var. CO 2, posing a problem for seed processing were many ill-filled and immature seeds are produced by late-formed spikes. Hence, an attempt was undertaken to access the influence of grading seeds through seed shaker with various sieve size to upgrade the quality of Amaranthus var seeds CO 2 . Abstract Vegetables have a critical function in human health and nutritional security. Vegetables are considered an essential building block of any diet. Out of the leafy vegetables, Amaranthus is the most popular and salable vegetable consumed by people all over India. Seed processing experiment was undertaken in Amaranthus tricolor (CO 2) by using the sieves placed inside the mechanical seed shaker (Gyratory sieve shaker) to improve the quality of Amaranthus seeds. The seeds of Amaranthus were size graded with seed shaker attached with various sieve size of BSS 18 X18 (R), BSS 20 X 20 (R), BSS 22 X 22 (R) and BSP 22 X 22 (P). During processing, the machine could be adjusted for 2, 3, 4 and 5 minutes with an oscillating speed of 1440 rpm. The separated seeds were evaluated for seed quality characteristics such as seed germination percentage, shoot length, root length, dry matter production, 1000 seed weight and seed recovery percentage. The results revealed that the sieve size of BSS 22 X 22 (R=retained) mesh sieve had the better quality seeds with a maximum recovery of 67.41 g and when it is operated for a period of 5 minutes. The germination percentage was improved from 77 % to 95 % with 1000 seed weight of 73.21 mg, and the observed recovery was 56 per cent with the vigour index of 1145. Hence, BSS 22 X 22 retained mesh sieve with a duration of 5 minutes could be recommended as an optimum sieve size for grading Amaranthus seeds for improving the seed quality. Keywords: Amaranthus tricolor, Gyratory sieve shaker, Seed size grading, Seed germination, Seed quality How to Cite Pavithra, M. et al. (2021). Standardization of optimum sieve size for maximizing seed quality in Amaranthus ( Amaranthus tricolor L.). Journal of Applied and Natural Science, 13(4), 1326 - 1331. https://doi.org/10.31018/jans.v13i4.3052