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.
Highlights
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is an important grain crop belonging to the Amaranthaceae family, and has been cultivated for centuries [1,2]
The results revealed that the maximum grain yield was achieved by Rainbow and Longli 3 reaching 27.51 and 26.78 g plant−1, respectively, which significantly surpassed all other genotypes, while YY28 and Mengli 1 exceeded the 25 g plant−1 mark, signifying them as high-yielding genotypes
Our results revealed that the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents in quinoa during anthesis and grain filling were significantly lower than in the other three forage species (Figure 1A,B), which suggests that quinoa plants produce good quality forage
Summary
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is an important grain crop belonging to the Amaranthaceae family, and has been cultivated for centuries [1,2]. Quinoa has remarkable adaptability to different agro-ecological zones and can withstand temperatures from −4 ◦ C to 38 ◦ C, while many varieties are able to tolerate cold, salinity, and dry desert climates and can grow at relative humidities of 40% to 88%. It produces satisfactory yields with rainfall of 100 to 200 mm and is a highly water efficient plant that is tolerant of low soil moisture [3] and salinity, all of which signifies its importance in the development of sustainable agricultural systems [4,5]. Official cultivation started in 1988 by the Tibet Agriculture and Animal Husbandry
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