Soil salinity is a major problem in today's agriculture. Quinoa has become an important crop because it exhibits high levels of salinity tolerance. In addition, its seeds contain an excellent balance of carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids and proteins for human nutrition. The quinoa germplasm includes almost 2500 accessions, some of which have been tested under salt stress. Here, we report the effect of NaCl on the germination of 182 previously untested accessions. When seeds were irrigated with saline water at 30 dS m )1 EC, the stress appeared to be too high: all accessions showed less than 60 % germination. In contrast, irrigation with 25 dS m )1 EC saline water allowed over 60 % germination in 15 accessions. These latter accessions' agricultural traits were then evaluated. The overall coefficients of variation indicated that quinoa genotype and salt treatment dramatically influence root dry mass per plant, but do not noticeably affect the length of the plant's life cycle. Unexpectedly, salt treatment resulted in increased plant height, leaf dry mass and grain yield. Using Euclidean distance for the simultaneous selection of these five agricultural traits, accessions 100, 136, 127 and 105 proved to be the best performing genotypes under salt stress.

Although barley is extensively grown in the Peruvian highlands as a food crop, agricultural and quality performance have historically been poor.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a staple food produced mainly by small-scale subsistence farmers in Peru's highland. Dry seeds (cv. Pasankalla) were irradiated with doses of 150 Gy, 250 Gy and 350 Gy. In the M 1 generation, the germination process was delayed with increasing radiation dose; seedling height, root length and leaf development were most reduced at 250 Gy and at 350 Gy, no plants survived. In M 2 , the maximum spectrum of chlorophyll mutations corresponded to 150 Gy and the maximum frequency to 250 Gy. The chlorine mutation was predominant, followed by xantha. Changes were registered for branch number, pedicel length, plant height, life-cycle duration, stem and foliage colour, and leaf morphology at the two doses, with improvements in plant type. More than one mutation per plant was found, especially at 250 Gy. In M 3 , the same spectrum of mutations was observed, along with a valuable change in grain colour.

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In this research, the median lethal dose (LD50) and resistance to spittlebug (Mahanarva andigena) were determined, using a mutagenizing agent ethyl meta-sulfonate (EMS) in Janeiro grass (Eriochloa polystachya Kunth) as a means to generate mutations. The study was carried out at the laboratory and greenhouse level, using a Complete Random Design (DCA) with ten treatments and three repetitions, which consisted of 5 doses of EMS (0.00%, 0.25%, 0.50%, 0.75% and 1.00%). for 2 impregnation times (24 and 48 hours). According to the results, the doses of ethyl meta-sulfonate (EMS) influenced the setting of the stolons of the janeiro grass, presenting a high rate of deflation in doses higher than 0.50%. Treatments with doses of 0.25% EMS at 48 hours achieved the best agronomic performance up to 95 days, where plant height had its best development with use close to that determined as DL50 (0.32%). The janeiro grass impregnated with EMS presented slight damage caused by the spittle.