In recent years, consumers have shown a strong interest in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd., 2n = 4x = 36). This species originating from South America owes its appeal to the well-balanced aminoacidic composition and the absence of gluten. These positive features, among many others, suggest quinoa as a suitable aliment for people with celiac disease and vegans, and it is strongly recommended for weaning. The skyrocketing request of the product and its limited production throughout the world have increased its price, suggesting also to farmers such species as a possible and more remunerative alternative to conventional crops. For these reasons, experiments to adapt such a crop to the Italian agricultural system were conducted, and this paper reports results and ideas formulated regarding this field over 10 years of observations. The activities performed spanned from morphophenological evaluation of different accessions collected all over the world, but all originating from South America, to the evaluation of their agronomical performance both in experimental field trials and open field tests. Particular attention was devoted to the mechanisation of the crop and the traits the plants need for this purpose. Strategies to adopt for the genetic research of this crop are discussed.
Chapter 1. Quinoa cultivation in Italy
Pannacci E.
2019
Abstract
In recent years, consumers have shown a strong interest in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd., 2n = 4x = 36). This species originating from South America owes its appeal to the well-balanced aminoacidic composition and the absence of gluten. These positive features, among many others, suggest quinoa as a suitable aliment for people with celiac disease and vegans, and it is strongly recommended for weaning. The skyrocketing request of the product and its limited production throughout the world have increased its price, suggesting also to farmers such species as a possible and more remunerative alternative to conventional crops. For these reasons, experiments to adapt such a crop to the Italian agricultural system were conducted, and this paper reports results and ideas formulated regarding this field over 10 years of observations. The activities performed spanned from morphophenological evaluation of different accessions collected all over the world, but all originating from South America, to the evaluation of their agronomical performance both in experimental field trials and open field tests. Particular attention was devoted to the mechanisation of the crop and the traits the plants need for this purpose. Strategies to adopt for the genetic research of this crop are discussed.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
