Variation in agronomic and grain nutritional traits of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) cultivars

Abstract

Quinoa is a potential crop for its use as human food and animal feed due to the high nutritional grain and quality forage. However, quinoa’s growth, yield and quality are affected by many factors. The study was aimed to evaluate the variability of eight quinoa cultivars over two years for phenology, yield and attributing traits, and also for nutritional quality of grain. The experiments were arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Significant variations were exhibited among the cultivars for all studied traits. Three cultivars, 5-Red, 40-Red and 45-Red, had the highest potential growth performance, while Cahuil cultivar had the highest grain yield. Both Cahuil and Isluga cultivars exhibited more stable and higher contents of nutrient composition than other cultivars. Significant positive correlation were observed for grain yield with yield attributing traits, and for forage yield with most of the growth traits. No negative correlations among grain quality traits were observed, implying easier improvement for quinoa grain quality. The first two principal components in PCA (principal component analysis) explained 77.39% of the total variability. Based on forage yield, grain yield and nutritional quality over two years, 40-Red cultivar was selected for grain production and forage yield purposes, and Cahuil cultivar was selected for high grain yield and nutritional quality.