Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.), a potential new crop for Pakistan

Abstract

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is one of the main food crops of the Andean mountains, where it has been a staple crop for thousands of years. It is characterized by an outstanding protein quality and a high content of a range of vitamins and minerals, and for that reason it has been selected by FAO as one of the crops destined to offer food security in this century. The genetic variability of quinoa is huge, with cultivars being adapted to growth from sea level to 4000 masl, from 40 °S to 2 °N, and from cold, highland climates to subtropical conditions, which makes it possible to select, adapt and breed cultivars for growth under Asian conditions. The nutritional characteristics, its modest requirements, its wide adaptability, and its multiple uses, explain the interest in the crop in South America and outside. Demand for quinoa is increasing, but the supply from the quinoa producing countries of South America is insufficient. Production and productivity of quinoa could be increased within the Andean region, and additionally by sowing in new sites outside the Andes, for instance some of those identified as suitable in the American and European Test of Quinoa, organized by FAO and the Quinoa Project CIPDANIDA, where Pakistan and other Asian countries are participating. Quinoa could be an important new crop for Pakistani agriculture, providing highly nutritive and versatile food products for the population, and a new raw material for the industry. In particular, it could be cultivated in many of the marginal environments afflicted by drought or salinity stress, which currently suffer from very low productivity.