The Effect of Irrigation Intervals on the Growth and Yield of Quinoa Crop and Its Components

Abstract

This experiment was conducted to study the effect of irrigation intervals on growth, yield and its components and some of the chemical characteristics of the soil after the harvest of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa willd) plant. Three treatments were used as follow: T1 (twice irrigation every week, which is the common in the region), T2 (once irrigation every week) and T3 (twice irrigation every two weeks) using in a randomized complete block design with four replicates. The crop coefficient (Kc) value differed according to the stage of growth where the results showed that the T2 treatment gave the highest mean in all the studied traits followed by the T3 treatment in all traits except the number of seed/m 2 . The results also confirmed that the increase in water reduced the agronomic traits such as harvest index, number of seeds and yield of seeds and straw/m 2 . Also it showed that the pH values in soils were not significantly affected by irrigation, while Ec significantly affected. Correlation coefficient was negative with the most traits and low with the number of grain (0.34) under overall studied treatments which confirms that quinoa is a plant that needs limited amounts of irrigation water. On the other hand there was positive strong correlation between the harvest index and grain yield (0.92). The results showed that moisture stress treatments increased the concentration of the ionic, NH 4 -N and NO 3 -N significantly compared to soils which do not have moisture stress (T1, T2). We assume that the development based on Kc during growth-stages helps in irrigation management and provides precise water applications for quinoa plant. These results indicate that the water requirements of quinoa plant are limited and that quinoa plant growth is not affected by the lack of irrigation water on the crop and its qualities.

Quinoa bitterness: causes and solutions for improving product acceptability

“…From a botanical and agronomic standpoint, quinoa can be characterized using the terms ‘biodiversity’ and ‘sustainability’, two keywords of the 21st century denoting qualities that make this crop one of the best alternative and resistant grains with respect to current climate change. Its environmental adaptability and efficient water utilization make it an excellent substitute for traditional cereals, especially in marginal areas . Despite its mountain origin, research indicates it can be grown from sea level to altitudes over 4000 m with large yield ranges (from 0.32 to 9.83 t ha −1 ) .…”