Chenopodium quinoa is gaining global importance due to its excellent protein quality and tolerance of abiotic stresses. The last 60 years have seen major strides in the expansion of quinoa crop production and experimentation. Quinoa’s wide genetic diversity has led to its agronomic versatility and adaptation to different soil types, particularly saline soils, and environments with extremely variable conditions in terms of humidity, altitude, and temperature. The potential of quinoa to contribute to global food security was recognized in 2013 in the declaration of the International Year of Quinoa (IYQ). Promoting the use of improved homogeneous quinoa varieties standardized to comply with applicable norms on seeds or suited to intensified conventional agriculture farming systems may not generate the necessary resilience needed to respond to current and future global challenges. Maintaining and increasing quinoa biodiversity is imperative, as the dynamics of the global expansion of quinoa may constitute a threat to farmers if the spread is generated with a narrow genetic base. In this article, we propose that the method of evolutionary participatory breeding could be a useful tool to develop new quinoa genetic material in cooperation with farmers. We introduce preliminary results on quinoa population development with farmers in the Pacific Northwest region of the USA. We conclude that a global collaborative network on quinoa (GCN-Quinoa) could be the baseline for participatory plant breeding programs originating in developing or developed countries to meet the needs of farmers across a diversity of agronomic systems and a wide range of physical environments.
Objective:
The objective of this review is to develop a definition of biofortification through the synthesis of food biofortification publications and to document the breadth of the research on this topic.
Introduction:
Biofortification of a food source is a human health intervention. Due to the varying definitions of this concept, biofortification can be difficult to describe. Originally, biofortification was defined as the use of plant breeding methods to produce staple foods dense in minerals and vitamins. Research using the term focused on mineral, vitamin, and protein improvement of staple foods. However, the field has expanded to include non-staple foods as well as different methodological approaches to biofortification (eg, transgenic, molecular breeding). Researchers require a broad overview of the evidence and consensus on a definition to ensure effective communication within this scientific community.
Inclusion criteria:
Inclusion criteria will be broad to ensure that existing definitions of biofortification are captured across the different areas of study in this field. The review will consider research published in English. Inclusion will not be limited by participant type, date of publication, or context. The concept will be strictly biofortification.
Methods:
A broad search strategy will be utilized for AGRICOLA, AGRIS, Web of Science, PubAg, CINAHL, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Epistemonikos, JBI Evidence Synthesis, Google Scholar, and Washington State University Libraries’ integrated catalog. A limited search for gray literature will be conducted. The data extracted will include study and author characteristics. Tables and figures will demonstrate the breadth of the evidence.
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