Yield, Agronomic and Forage Quality Traits of Different Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) Genotypes in Northeast China

Abstract

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) grain is well known as a source of nutritious human food, but the nutritional properties of quinoa as animal fodder has not been well explored. Fifteen quinoa accessions were assessed for grain and forage yields, and morphological and quality traits during anthesis and grain filling, with the aim of selecting superior genotypes for greater production and quality traits that are well adapted to northeastern China. Variations were significant among the tested genotypes for all traits. The highest grain weight was recorded in Rainbow (27.51 g plant−1), followed by the local Chinese genotypes Longli 3, YY28 and Mengli 1. Correlation analysis revealed a significant positive association of grain yield with branches and a negative association with culm thickness and inflorescence length, whereas more branches and moderate plant height were the main yield components affecting yield. Forage shoot weight was 37.2–81.6 g plant−1, with JQ3 and ZQ1 exhibiting the highest yields. Forage yield was strongly and positively correlated with most of the morphological traits, except plant height, and was negatively associated with chlorophyll content and the fresh/dry matter ratio. Quality traits and the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents of quinoa were significantly lower than alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), oats (Avena sativa L.) or Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel, and the crude protein (CP) content was significantly higher than all three species, reaching above 20%. The saponin content of the whole plant was higher during anthesis than during grain filling. In conclusion, genotypes having more branches and shorter and more compact main inflorescences achieved higher grain yields, whereas genotypes possessing thick stems, more branches and moderate plant height produced more forage. Hence, the results indicate that superior quinoa genotypes have great potential to solve fodder shortages in China.

Synergistic Association With Root Endophytic Fungi Improves Morpho-Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Chenopodium quinoa to Salt Stress

“…The total number of shoots was recorded by counting all branches emerging from the main stem at different node positions, including the basal branches. Although plant biomass was not measured at the end of the experiment, a previous study in C. quinoa showed that the number of shoots is positively correlated with final biomass (Shah et al, 2020). Moreover, both traits, plant height and number of shoots, have been demonstrated to be susceptible to salinity in halophyte plants, including C. quinoa (Vasquez et al, 2006;Hussain et al, 2020;Jaramillo Roman et al, 2020).…”

Yield, growth development and grain characteristics of seven Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) genotypes grown in open-field production systems under hot-arid climatic conditions

“…In this context, quinoa offers an excellent alternative crop to ensure food and nutrition security in hot drylands such as the MENA region. Quinoa has a potential use for animal feeding, especially under arid conditions where grain and plant maturity are sometimes difficult to obtain 83 . In fact, the strategy of developing salt-tolerant plants and halophytes as alternative crops to be grown in marginal environments of this region is very important insofar as the major cereal crops are progressively failing to produce satisfied yield under salinity and scarce water resources 21 – 27 .…”

Trends and Limits for Quinoa Production and Promotion in Pakistan

“…After seed harvesting, there is potential for quinoa growers to market straw a forage crop [24][25][26]. Generally, genotypes with thick stems, more branches, and moderate plant height producing higher biomass are ideal for fodder and genotypes with compact inflorescence are ideal for grain purpose [27]. Presently, some quinoa lines with high nutritional profile, biomass, and low saponin contents have been evaluated for fodder purposes [unpublished data].…”