Due to the increasing global demand for quinoa, both as an Andean export commodity and for agricultural development purposes, there is considerable interest in testing quinoa for growing under a ...range of environmental and geographical conditions. One of the environments most distanced from the crops’ natural conditions is Northern Europe. Research work performed in Europe has demonstrated the potential of quinoa to be produced under European conditions, with varieties adapted to longer days, more humid environment and mechanization. Quinoa is now grown commercially outside South America, and the number of producer countries and area is rapidly increasing. To secure a successful cultivation of quinoa in Northern Europe, several aspects must be considered. The only cultivars to grow are daylength neutral varieties. Establishment of the crop is critical, as all small seeded crops require a shallow sowing depth in a uniform and humid seed bed. Weed control should be done as carefully and precisely as possible with hoeing between the rows. Harvest takes place when seeds are mature, and plants are dry. In Northern Europe, harvest is taking place in the beginning of September. Yields are 1–3 t/ha, and prices are high. Breeding efforts in quinoa aim at disease resistance against downy mildew (Peronospora variabilis), earliness, low saponin content and high yield. The scope for adaptation and marketing of locally produced quinoa in Northern Europe seems considerable.
The projected growth in global food demand has resulted in increased attention towards underutilized crops with the potential to improve global food security and ability to mitigate adverse effects ...of climate changes. Changing consumer demands in favour of more nutritiously balanced and organically grown crops have added to the interest in species such as amaranth. Promoting the consumption and cultivation of amaranth could be valuable due to its unique nutrient composition and inherent tolerance of drought and other stress factors. Due to current and predicted effects of climate changes, these attributes are becoming increasingly important. Amaranth is a source of high quality protein, as well as dietary fibre and lipids rich in unsaturated fatty acids. The seeds contain desirable levels of minerals, vitamins for human diets, in addition to other bioactive components such as phytosterols, squalene, fagopyritols, saponins and polyphenols. Amaranth is currently in demand by specific consumer groups, such as high‐performance athletes, malnourished children, and people suffering from diabetes and coeliac disease. Even so, there are few detailed analyses available concerning the potential for using amaranth to improve and support agricultural productivity in developing countries. The present review has assessed the promotion and improvement of amaranth production in East Africa to hold subtstantial potential for benefitting small‐holder farmers in Africa, by providing a stable source of income and food for subsistence farmers, while also mitigating the impact of climate change through the prospect of supporting the establishment of food and nutritional security.
In Bolivia, one of the world’s most important centres of plant domestication, there is growing awareness of the value of native Andean crops, both for domestic consumption and for market sale – ...notably the virtually boom‐like consumer demand for quinoa around the world. The southern altiplano of Bolivia, south of Oruro, relies almost purely on the production of quinoa and breeding of llamas, which have also been selected as the two commodities of priority to the government to increase the income of the country. Presently, however, quinoa is facing increasing problems in production, owing to its increasing export market and price. The flat areas around the salt desert of the southern altiplano, previously characterized by natural vegetation fed by the llamas, are being increasingly sown with quinoa, hence transformed into deserts, because intensive cultivation methods make the soil loose its fertility. Possible solutions to these problems will require extensive efforts in the south, in addition to various strategies, which also include other parts of the Bolivian altiplano and a strengthened focus on other Andean crops.
Leaf chlorophyll content provides valuable information about physiological status of plants; it is directly linked to photosynthetic potential and primary production. In vitro assessment by wet ...chemical extraction is the standard method for leaf chlorophyll determination. This measurement is expensive, laborious, and time consuming. Over the years alternative methods, rapid and non-destructive, have been explored. The aim of this work was to evaluate the applicability of a fast and non-invasive field method for estimation of chlorophyll content in quinoa and amaranth leaves based on RGB components analysis of digital images acquired with a standard SLR camera. Digital images of leaves from different genotypes of quinoa and amaranth were acquired directly in the field. Mean values of each RGB component were evaluated via image analysis software and correlated to leaf chlorophyll provided by standard laboratory procedure. Single and multiple regression models using RGB color components as independent variables have been tested and validated. The performance of the proposed method was compared to that of the widely used non-destructive SPAD method. Sensitivity of the best regression models for different genotypes of quinoa and amaranth was also checked. Color data acquisition of the leaves in the field with a digital camera was quick, more effective, and lower cost than SPAD. The proposed RGB models provided better correlation (highest R ²) and prediction (lowest RMSEP) of the true value of foliar chlorophyll content and had a lower amount of noise in the whole range of chlorophyll studied compared with SPAD and other leaf image processing based models when applied to quinoa and amaranth.
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa, Willd.) is an Andean grain crop recognized as an ally for global food security due to its high nutritional value. However, quinoa globalization entails challenges to the ...countries of origin. Farmers face a scenario of new concerns and competitors. In 2018, quinoa was present for research and production in 123 countries. Although 74% of global exports are still supplied by Peru and Bolivia, production outside the Andes is increasing. In addition, producer prices collapsed in 2015 while yields remained unstable, averaging 0.4–1.1 t ha−1. Understanding the reality of the new quinoa situation is fundamental to face the challenges of encouraging local biodiversity, promoting market diversification and cooperating with inclusive processes towards equitable benefits.
Display omitted
•By 2018, quinoa is present in more than 120 countries around the world.•Almost 110 countries started to test and produce quinoa in the last 30 years.•The Andean region covers 76% of global exports with average yields below 1.1 t ha−1•New competitors to the Andean region cover 16% of the global exports.•Diversification in: production systems, market strategies and collaboration are key.
► A range of crop and management strategies might be combined for a specific target environment in order to optimize crop productivity. These combinations can then be used as a guidance to future ...decision support systems for crop production at limited water supply under arid Mediterranean conditions. ► Yield increases and stability may arise from selection for early vigour, deep roots, increased transpiration efficiency, improved disease resistance, and high assimilate storage and remobilization. ► Introduction of drought and salt tolerant crop species as quinoa as amaranth may result in more resilient crop rotations and high value cash crop products. ► Solutions to create climate proof cropping systems in the arid Mediterranean region, which is predicted to suffer from increasingly severe droughts in the future due to climate changes, are discussed.
The aim of the present review is to highlight the possibilities of a sustainable crop production in the arid Mediterranean region, which is predicted to suffer from increasingly severe droughts in the future due to climate changes, in addition to increased problems with soil salinity and increased temperatures. Annual rainfall in the region varies between 300 and 1000mm, covering arid, semi-arid and wet ecosystems. As stress factors often act together, it is important sometimes to focus on multiple stresses affecting the crop, instead of looking at the individual stress separated from the rest. The rainfed farming systems are the most important in the Mediterranean countries. The question is if we can overcome mild to medium level of abiotic stresses by agronomic means. It might be done by using different crops of increased drought and salinity tolerance, and utilizing their stress adaptation mechanisms to optimize crop productivity. However supplemental irrigation used as deficit irrigation has the potential to overcome periods of low rainfall or high temperatures. It is suggested that improvements in crop production may arise from several strategies such as early sowing enabled by minimum tillage, increased use of organic manure, and an efficient weed control. Further, crop rotations will play an important role in improving weed control, minimizing disease risk, and increasing nitrogen availability. Introduction of drought and salt tolerant crop species as quinoa, amaranth and Andean lupin may result in more resilient crop rotations and high value cash crop products. Genotypic increases may arise from selection for early vigour, deep roots, increased transpiration efficiency, improved disease resistance, and high assimilate storage and remobilization. A range of crop and management strategies might be combined for a specific target environment in order to optimize crop productivity. These combinations can then be used as a guidance to future decision support systems for crop production at limited water supply under arid Mediterranean conditions.
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.), traditionally called the mother of grains, has the potential to grow under high temperatures and drought, tolerating levels regarded as stresses in other crop ...species. A pot experiment was conducted in a climate chamber to investigate the potential of quinoa tolerance to increasing drought and temperature. Quinoa plants were subjected to three irrigation and two temperature regimes. At low temperature, the day/night climate chamber temperature was maintained at 18/8 °C and 25/20 °C for high temperature throughout the treatment period. The irrigation treatments were full irrigation (FI), deficit irrigation (DI) and alternate root‐zone drying (ARD). FI plants were irrigated daily to the level of the pot's water‐holding capacity. In DI and ARD, 70 % water of FI was applied either to the whole pot or to one side of the pot alternating, respectively. The results indicated that plant height and shoot dry weight significantly decreased by ARD and DI compared to FI treatment both at low and at high temperatures. However, plants in ARD treatment showed significantly higher plant height and shoot dry weight compared to DI especially at higher temperature, which is linked to increased xylem ion content. Higher quinoa plant growth in ARD was associated with increase in water‐use efficiency (WUEi) due to higher abscisic acid concentration and higher nutrient contents compared to DI. From results, it can be concluded that quinoa plant growth is favoured by high temperature (25/20 °C) and ARD is an effective irrigation strategy to increase WUE in drought prone areas.
Supplying organic matter under deficit irrigation conditions could be a practical solution to compensate the negative effect of water stress. For this purpose, studies in pea as a legume and quinoa ...as a new drought‐tolerant crop were conducted in the south of Morocco between October 2011 and March 2012. Three organic matter levels (0, 5 and 10 t ha⁻¹) were supplied as compost amendment combined with 2 irrigation levels (50 and 100% of full irrigation). The results indicate that stomatal conductance and dry matter have been affected significantly (P < 0.05) only by deficit irrigation, while harvested yield was affected significantly (P < 0.05) by both deficit irrigation and organic manure. The highest seed yields (3.3 t ha⁻¹ for quinoa and 5.6 t ha⁻¹ for pea) were recorded under full irrigation and 10 t ha⁻¹ of compost. Results indicated that organic amendment of 10 t ha⁻¹ and 5 t ha⁻¹ significantly (P ≤ 0.05) increased seed yield by 18 and 11% under stress conditions and by 13 and 3% under full irrigation for quinoa and by 24 and 11% under full irrigation and by 41 and 25% under water‐deficit irrigation for pea. It can be concluded that organic amendment improved significantly yield and biomass production better under deficit irrigation conditions than under full irrigation. Combining deficit irrigation and organic amendment led to the maximization of crop water productivity.
Antioxidants play an important role in adapting plants to abiotic stress by detoxifying reactive oxygen species (ROS). Involvement of antioxidant enzymes in abiotic stress tolerance of highly ...stress‐tolerant quinoa was studied in a climatic chamber at 6 mOsm (milliosmolar) ionic (300 mm NaCl) and non‐ionic (600 mm mannitol) salts combined with increasing levels of potassium K1 and K2 (6, 12 mm), respectively. Fifteen days of salt treatment (both ionic and non‐ionic) decreased plant growth (shoot and root fresh weight), stomatal conductance and chlorophyll content index. Furthermore, both forms of salt stress increased the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and peroxidase up to 2.33‐, 3.98‐, 4.78‐ and 5.55‐folds, respectively, compared to no salt treatment, whereas membrane stability index decreased corresponding to increase in lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde), with salt treatments compared to non‐stressed plants. However, no significant effect of potassium and salt treatments has been noticed on the maximal photochemical efficiency of PSII. The results suggested that enhanced antioxidant enzymes activity under salt stress could be one of the factors responsible for abiotic stress tolerance in quinoa.
Quinoa (ChenopodiumquinoaWilld.) is a highly nutritious Andean seed crop which shows great potential to grow under a range of hostile environments. The objective of this study was to investigate the ...differences of drought tolerance of a Bolivian (Achachino) and a Danish (Titicaca) variety, and especially drought‐related adaption strategies. Soil water status was expressed as the fraction of transpirable soil water (FTSW). Relative stomatal conductance (RSC), relative transpiration (RT) and relative leaf water potential (RLW) were calculated by determining stomatal conductance, transpiration rate and leaf water potential of the drought‐treated plants relative to those of fully irrigated plants. The responses of RSC, RT and RLW to decreasing FTSW were described by a linear‐plateau model. The critical value of FTSW was the threshold of FTSW where the parameters studied decreased. The thresholds increased CS for stomatal conductance, CT for transpiration and CLfor leaf water potential. Achachino showed significantly lower CT and CL when compared with Titicaca, implying that transpiration and leaf water potential were less affected under mild drought conditions in the Bolivian variety. CS in Achachino was significantly higher than CL and CT, which indicated that stomatal conductance declined before transpiration and leaf water potential were reduced. Such difference was found in Titicaca where reduction of leaf area had more effect on transpiration than stomatal closure. Slower growth rate and smaller leaf area in combination with a lower stomatal conductance was found to contribute to drought resistance in Achachino. ABA concentration in the xylem sap tended to increase in both varieties after 2 days onset of drought, prior to decline in leaf water potential. Titicaca showed significantly (P < 0.05) higher ABA concentration when compared with Achachino under both fully irrigated and drought conditions. Titicaca had higher xylem nutrient concentration in comparison with Achachino in both fully‐watered and drought plants at day 2 after onset of soil drying. It was concluded that Titicaca was more sensitive to progressive drought than Achachino which avoided water loss by means of lower growth rate and smaller leaf area.
PDF
