Quinoa is a highly diverse crop domesticated in the Andean region of South America with broad adaptation to a wide range of marginal environments. Quinoa has garnered interest worldwide due to its nutritional and health benefits. Over the last decade, quinoa production has expanded outside of the Andean region, prompting multiple studies investigating the potential for quinoa cultivation in novel environments. Currently, quinoa is grown in countries spanning five continents, including North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. Here, we update the advances of quinoa research in Ecuador across different topics, including (a) current quinoa production situation with a focus on breeding progress, (b) traditional seed production, and (c) the impact of the work of the nongovernment organization “European Committee for Training and Agriculture” with quinoa farmers in Chimborazo province. Additionally, we discuss genetic diversity, primary pests and diseases, actions for adapting quinoa to tropical areas, and recent innovations in quinoa processing in Ecuador. Finally, we report a case study describing a participatory breeding project between Washington State University and the Association of Andean Seed and Nutritional Food Producers Mushuk Yuyay in the province of Cañar.

The introduction of Lupinus mutabilis (Andean lupin) in Europe will provide a new source of protein and oil for plant-based diets and biomass for bio-based products, while contributing to the improvement of marginal soils. This study evaluates for the first time the phenotypic variability of a large panel of L. mutabilis accessions both in their native environment and over two cropping conditions in Europe (winter crop in the Mediterranean region and summer crop in North-Central Europe), paving the way for the selection of accessions adapted to specific environments. The panel of 225 accessions included both germplasm pools from the Andean region and breeding lines from Europe. Notably, we reported higher grain yield in Mediterranean winter-cropping conditions (18 g/plant) than in the native region (9 g/plant). Instead, North European summer-cropping conditions appear more suitable for biomass production (up to 2 kg/plant). The phenotypic evaluation of 16 agronomical traits revealed significant variation in the panel. Principal component analyses pointed out flowering time, yield, and architecture-related traits as the main factors explaining variation between accessions. The Peruvian material stands out among the top-yielding accessions in Europe, characterized by early lines with high grain yield (e.g., LIB065, LIB072, and LIB155). Bolivian and Ecuadorian materials appear more valuable for the selection of genotypes for Andean conditions and for biomass production in Europe. We also observed that flowering time in the different environments is influenced by temperature accumulation. Within the panel, it is possible to identify both early and late genotypes, characterized by different thermal thresholds (600°C–700°C and 1,000–1,200°C GDD, respectively). Indications on top-yielding and early/late accessions, heritability of morpho-physiological traits, and their associations with grain yield are reported and remain largely environmental specific, underlining the importance of selecting useful genetic resources for specific environments. Altogether, these results suggest that the studied panel holds the genetic potential for the adaptation of L. mutabilis to Europe and provide the basis for initiating a breeding program based on exploiting the variation described herein.

Twenty two Uromyces appendiculatus isolates were tested on 20 differential and 25 Ecuadorian Phaseolus vulgaris cultivars in the seedling stage. Based on the infection types 20 races could be discerned. The Ecuadorian cultivars differed greatly in their reaction to the isolates, from resistant to only one isolate ('Red Small Garden') to resistant to all isolates ('G2333'). The isolates showed a wide range of virulence to the Ecuadorian cultivars, from virulent to only two cultivars (isolate 13) to virulent to 21 cultivars (isolates 5 and 23).Seven cultivars with a basically susceptible infection type appeared to differ greatly in quantitative resistance when tested in three consecutive crop cycles. The disease severities in percentage leaf area affected averaged over the three cycles ranged between 83.9% for 'Red Small Garden' and 13.1% for 'INIAP-414'.Race-specific resistance does not seem an advisable breeding strategy, but the quantitative resistance offers a good alternative.

SUMMARYAgriculture research often focuses on a technical problem. However, the most effective researchers usually intuit that this entry point is not sufficient to make themselves useful to farmers and nudge systems. Yet non-technical work frequently goes undocumented leaving many of the drivers of success unstudied. This paper attempts to understand the factors that contributed to the wide utilization of native crop varieties and species that were being promoted by the Ecuadorian National Agriculture Research Institution. The results show that what really made a difference in farmers' lives and the overall food system was increasing farmers' knowledge and capacity to produce quality seeds, promoting the consumption of these crops to national consumers, and linking farmers to outside groups. As a result, over a period of five years three case studies on three different farmer groups showed adoption rates of new varieties of between 20-50% and that they were able to produce approximately 7.5% of the annual demand for quinoa and lupin seed in Ecuador, from a starting point of virtually nothing. The research shows that the added value of a research institution might not be known at the beginning of the intervention, but rather will emerge over time through dialogue and negotiation based on systematic understanding of the context. Therefore, an appropriate stance for external organizations is to begin with an awareness of the existing assets of a specific farmer group and provide options that can be leveraged by local communities.

Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) is the second most important domesticated species of Phaseolus in the world and could represent a precious alternative for food security and quality, as well as play a major role for sustainability in the face of climate change in Latin America and worldwide. Currently, many experts on conservation, domestication, genetic improvement, and plant-rhizosphere relationship of Lima bean have been working alone or in small groups. This situation has limited obtaining a greater benefit from their research and strongly prompts the study of the Lima bean worldwide. To increase the collaboration between experts in the study of the Lima bean, we present the Lima Bean International Network (LBIN). The main objectives of LBIN are to deepen the knowledge on this species and to promote its use worldwide. The success of LBIN will depend on the collaboration of the international scientific community interested in the study of Lima bean. Hence, we invite people from different sectors of society (researchers, producers, companies, NGOs, governments) to participate in this initiative. To get more information, you can visit https://www.cicy.mx/sitios/red-internacional-frijol-lima