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Kiwicha
Pages 138-147

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From page 139...
... Not only are they richer in protein than the major cereals, but the amino acid balance of their protein comes closer to nutritional perfection for the human diet than that in normal cereal grains. Five hundred years ago kiwicha helped feed the Incas.
From page 140...
... Indeed, cookies and breakfast foods made of amaranth are already in health food stores and some supermarkets from New York to San Francisco. Given research, kiwicha might also find a place in world agriculture, although so far it has not performed as well in the northern hemisphere as the Mexican species.
From page 141...
... A killing frost is required to dry down the plants sufficiently to permit direct combine harvest. Amaranth is of particular interest to farmers growing dryland crops in areas of the Great Plains.
From page 142...
... Blends of 80 percent wheat and 20 percent kiwicha give normal leavening to breads, and the high lysine content of the kiwicha greatly improves the nutritional quality over that of breads made with wheat flour alone. In the form of whole grain, flour, toasted grain, popped grain, flakes or sprouted-grain flour- kiwicha can be used in many other foods, including soups; pancakes; breakfast cereals; porridges; breads, rolls, muffins, and similar baked foods; and salads.
From page 143...
... 6 A simple planter, devised in Peru, consists of a disposable plastic coffee cup fitted on the bottom of a short piece of plastic pipe. The pipe is filled with seed, and a nail hole in the bottom of the cup allows the seed to dribble out as the farmer walks along.
From page 144...
... This makes it difficult to winnow the crop to obtain clean seed.'° The small seed size increases the difficulty of establishing a good plant stand. Small-seeded crops require a shallow planting depth; thus the seed zone of the soil is prone to drying out during germination and emergence.
From page 145...
... · The determination of optimal growing practices under various environmental and cultural conditions. · The improvement of harvesting techniques for increasing grain uniformity and reducing contamination.
From page 146...
... It is not found in the wild, and although until recently it has been a "rustic" crop, it is believed that it has long been fully domesticated. Although never as important or imbued with such special attributes as the pre-Columbian Mexican amaranths, kiwicha undoubtedly played an important nutritional role in pre-Conquest Andean society, particularly in the region of the Incan and Aymaran homelands in southern Peru and Bolivia.
From page 147...
... Genotypes that tolerate alkaline soils with pH as high as 8.5 have been discovered. In addition, some with an apparent ability to withstand mild salinity have been identified.~4 Other Amaranthus species are renowned for their tolerance to acid soils and aluminum toxicity; kiwicha probably is similar.


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