Worldwide development of agronomic management practices for quinoa cultivation: a systematic review

Abstract

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Wild.) is a drought and salinity-tolerant crop that originated in the Andes over 7000 years ago. It is adapted to different agroecological areas and can be grown from sea level to an altitude of 4000 m. The outstanding nutritional status of quinoa, with its high content of proteins, vitamins, and minerals, makes it a promising crop able to combat hunger and malnutrition in different countries in the 21st century. Quinoa cultivation has expanded from South America to Africa, Europe, Asia, and North America. Reviewing quinoa cropping practices will provide farmers with adequate recommendations for improving the agronomic and environmental sustainability of quinoa cultivation worldwide. For this reason, we conducted a systematic review of agronomic management practices in 148 field experiments conducted worldwide from 2000 to 2022. The collected data from the literature were analyzed and presented by location to determine high-performing genotypes, optimal planting dates, and other adequate cropping practices affecting quinoa performance and yield. Results showed that quinoa could be successfully cultivated in the new farming areas. Quinoa yields were higher than those reported in its place of origin, ranging from 108 kg ha-1, obtained by KU-2 in Washington State, to 9667 kg ha-1, obtained by Longli in China. Although quinoa is considered a crop with low input requirements, positive grain yield response was observed following increasing fertilization rates. Quinoa needs 2 to 4.6 kg of nitrogen to produce 1q of grain yield. In terms of phosphorus and potassium, quinoa needs 3.7 kg P2O5 and 4.3 kg K2O to produce 1 ton of total biomass. Quinoa has low water requirements (300-400 mm). However, a positive response was recorded with water quantities up to 866 mm. During our investigation, weed control in quinoa crop is still undeveloped and usually done manually. Research addressing this issue can increase quinoa yields and decrease the production cost. Downey mildew and birds’ attack are the major phytosanitary problems affecting quinoa grain yield. Other pests such as miners and aphids can also affect the health of quinoa, but their injury is not a serious problem. After the harvest, saponins found in the out layer of the seed can be removed through washing and mechanical pearling process, but the latter technic was found to be efficient and cost effective to reduce the saponin content. Our results constitute the first recommendation base for the adequate worldwide agronomic practices of quinoa crop.

Challenges and Perspectives for Integrating Quinoa into the Agri-Food System

“…There has been a remarkable increase in the cultivated area of quinoa in the last few years (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018)(2019), especially in the Bolivian region, with increases from 35,690 to 64,789 ha −1 , and in Peru, with increases from 27,578 to 37,625 ha −1 . The major importers of their harvests are the United States of America (53%), Canada (15%), France (8%), Germany (4%), the Netherlands (4%), Australia (3%), and the UK (2%) [10].…”

“…Recently, the yield potential of seven quinoa genotypes was explored in the hot-arid regions of North Africa, and it was found that some genotypes are high-yielding and have better grain quality with short harvesting maturity [62]. Despite the wider adaptability of quinoa, its yield is quite varied, from 108 kg ha −1 to 9667 kg ha −1 around the world [35].…”

“…Despite the increase in weed management over the past few years, there are limited data that have been reported regarding agronomic practices, especially weed management practices, for quinoa crops. Manual hand hoeing is the most commonly and widely adopted practice to control weeds in quinoa fields during early crop establishment [35]. Manual hoeing is very expensive, costing up to USD 1000 per acre in China, and thus increases the cost of production of this crop.…”

Residual Effects of Compost and Manure Fertilizers on Quinoa Production and Nutrient Uptake

“…In this context, quinoa positively responded to the addition of goat manure up to 4 t ha − 1 (González et al 2023). Although some studies have reported the positive effect of soil organic fertilizers on quinoa productivity (Taaime et al 2023), no research has addressed the residual effect of such fertilizers on quinoa productivity and nutrient uptake.…”

Chenopodium quinoa Willd. and Amaranthus hybridus L.: Ancestral Andean Food Security and Modern Anticancer and Antimicrobial Activity

“…Both species have been used since pre-agricultural times, and have long been cultivated following ancestral, sustainable methods that enable production in conditions of high altitude, drought, salinity and frost and which hold valuable lessons for the current climate emergency [33][34][35].…”