Lost Crops of the Incas Little-Known Plants of the Andes with Promise for Worldwide Cultivation (1989) / Chapter Skim
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Kaniwa
Kaniwa
Pages 128-137
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From page 129... ...
In its native area, for example, year-round temperatures average less than 10°C, and frost occurs during at least nine months a year, including the height of the growing season.2 Kaniwa is so cold hardy that in the high Andes it serves subsistence farmers as a "safety-net." When all else fails, kaniwa still provides food. Indeed, it is perhaps more resistant than any other grain crop to a combination of frost, drought, salt, and pests—and few other food plants are as easy to grow or demand such little care.
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From page 130... ...
Although it is unlikely ever to be a substantial food of the whole Andean region, kaniwa will continue as a vital agricultural support that sustains the lives of many highland peoples, especially during the most difficult times. By standing between total crop failure and starvation especially in high-altitude, marginal areas it will always be important to the wellbeing and stability of the region.
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From page 131... ...
The lack of knowledge of its productivity and mechanized cultivation would make it a risky commercial undertaking. Nonetheless, kaniwa is one of the most nutritious grains and most resilient plants known.
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From page 132... ...
The grain is also a potential feed. In one test, a mix of 80 percent kaniwa grain, 9 percent fishmeal, and 6 percent cottonseed meal yielded results equal to those of a commercially produced poultry ration.7 NUTRITION Kaniwa seed adds high-quality protein to meat-scarce diets.
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From page 133... ...
COCHABAMBA A'` ~ ORURO \ CHILE \ ,~ _. /- ~ 1 v, '; Kaniwa is grown in scattered plots on marginal land throughout the altiplano region (dotted)
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From page 134... ...
Under field conditions, seed yields of 2,400 kg per hectare have been reported; in experimental plots, twice that has been obtained.9 Kaniwa seed is tedious to prepare, for it is enclosed in a papery covering (a remnant of the Dower called a "perigonium") that must be removed.
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From page 135... ...
The plant's potential as a fodder deserves intense investigation. Because it grows readily at high altitudes where traditional forage crops fare poorly, it could help extend the usefulness of many nowmarginal lands.
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From page 136... ...
In field trials in Finland, 35 ecotypes (collected from Puno, Peru) produced mature grains at latitude 60°49'N, and 5 ecotypes matured grains at 64°41'N.~° 'I Although seed production was apparently unaffected by daylength, plant growth was poor, probably because of low light intensity and weed competition.
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From page 137... ...
Related Species. Kaniwa was long considered a weedy variety of quinoa, but chromosomal studies have confirmed that the two belong to separate species complexes (kaniwa has a chromosomal designation of 2n=2x= 18; quinoa has 2n=4x=361.
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