Essential molecules are embedded within the millenary crop Tropaeolum tuberosum (mashua); these compounds are critical for the Andean people’s traditional diet and extensively utilized by the pharmaceutical industry in Peru. In the Andean region, conventional cropping techniques generate microtubers susceptible to a viral infection, which substantially endangers mashua’s production. Therefore, we developed an innovative in vitro technique condition for enhancing the agriculture process for micro tubers production. The temporary immersion system (TIS) permits the production of high-quality microtubers in a reduced space, a lower amount of time, and in large quantities compared with tubers grown under traditional conditions. To obtain T. tuberosum’s microtubers via TIS, we propagated seedlings, utilizing TIS-RITA® vessels. A set of immersion frequency times were evaluated. Interestingly, results showed that immersion at 2 min every 3 h was more beneficial compared with 2 min every 5 h based on microtubers produced after 10 weeks from the treatments, revealing an efficient frequency setting which outputted improved microtubers quality and production.

Andean grains are key elements in the construction of family production systems. These seeds speak of the history of a people, their customs and ancestral knowledge. The general objective of the work was to evaluate the food use, crop management and traditional knowledge about the medicinal use of ancestral Andean grains among the inhabitants of the districts of Quinua and Acos Vinchos (Ayacucho-Peru). Basic descriptive research, carried out by means of convenience sampling, the sample size determined by the Law of Diminishing Returns, after signing an informed consent form. Semi-structured individual interviews were applied to 96 informants. A total of 96.9% of the informants reported that they obtained quinoa grain from their own crops, and 24.0% obtained achita grain that they sowed directly on their land; no cañihua was cultivated. A total of 58.3% use quinoa and achita in their diet. The variability of the food use of ancestral grains, specifically quinoa and achita, constitute a natural source of vegetable protein of high nutritional value, which represents one of the main foods of the inhabitants of Quinua and Acos Vinchos. Traditional medicine derived from the ancestral knowledge of Andean grains is barely preserved, but this is not the case for other medicinal plants in the area, as this knowledge is still preserved.

<p><strong>Background. </strong>The Temporary Immersion System (TIS) is an effective strategy to obtain quality mashua microtubers through the <em>in vitro</em> propagation of seedlings in a small space and in a short period of time. <strong>Objective. </strong>Obtain microtubers of 27 mashua morphotypes (<em>Tropaeolum tuberosum</em>)<em> </em>using the TIS-RITA^®. <strong>Methodology.</strong> The seedlings were previously propagated in MS (Murashige &amp; Skoog) solid medium, supplemented with 3% sucrose, at 5.6 pH and 0.7% agar. After fifteen days of cultivation in this medium, the seedlings were transferred to a MS liquid. For the tuberization process, seedlings with an average size of 10 cm were transferred to TIS-RITA® systems for ten weeks, under conditions of complete darkness, at 19 ± 2 ° C, an immersion frequency of 2 minutes every 3 hours in a MS liquid medium supplemented with 8% sucrose and 2 mg.L^-1 benzylamino purine (BAP). <strong>Results. </strong>The best results of microtubers were obtained with different morphotypes, which are respect to i/size, MAC 06A (1.9 cm) and MAC 056 (1.8 cm); ii / fresh weight, MAC 06A (0.2g) and MAC 092 (0.18 g); iii / quantity, MAC 08A (51 units) and MAC 048 (56 units). <strong>Implications</strong>. TIS-RITA^® can be used to obtain quality and virus-free seeds of a wide variety of commercially important crops. <strong>Conclusion</strong>. The SIT-RITA® based on the intermittent contact of the explants cultivating medium, is an efficient system to obtain mashua microtubers.</p>