Lost Crops of the Incas Little-Known Plants of the Andes with Promise for Worldwide Cultivation (1989) / Chapter Skim
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Quinoa
Quinoa
Pages 148-161
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From page 149... ...
Its grain is rich in protein and contains a better amino acid balance than the protein in most of the true cereals. In earlier times this grain helped sustain the awesome Inca armies as they marched throughout the empire on new conquests.
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From page 150... ...
Decision makers throughout the region should ensure that production increases to fill overseas demand, and that poor people get the maximum benefit from quinoa as both a food crop and a cash crop. Other Developing Areas.
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From page 151... ...
Traveling through Colombia in the early 1800s, Alexander von Humboldt observed that quinoa was to the region what "wine was to the Greeks, wheat to the Romans, cotton to the Arabs." He was excited by the crop because at that time starvation was rampant all over the world, and he had gone to South America looking for new foods to combat it. Because of its high nutritive value, Thor Heyerdahl took quinoa grain on the raft Con Tiki.
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From page 152... ...
f . i'- / a:: ARGENTINA i '`.` / : 4- URUGUAY/ a: Before the Spanish Conquest, quinoa was apparently grown from southern Chile to northern Colombia (widely spaced dot pattern)
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From page 153... ...
Quinoa flours, flakes, tortillas, pancakes, and puffed grains are produced commercially in Peru and Bolivia. Quinoa has demonstrated value as a partial wheat-flour substitute for enriching unleavened bread, cakes, and cookies.6 Blends of wheat flour containing up to 30 percent quinoa flour produce fully acceptable loaf breads.
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From page 154... ...
Opposite: Since the early 1980s quinoa has been cultivated on a trial basis at high altitudes in the Colorado Rockies, especially in the San Luis Valley. Conventional crops produce poorly here, but the trials have produced quinoa varieties that thrive.
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From page 155... ...
during the past five years. As ~ result, in 1989 quince was grown commercially for the hcs1 time in Britain.
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From page 156... ...
In nutritional content, quinoa leaves compare favorably to other leafy vegetables spinach, for example. When the fields are thinned, the offtake is used as edible greens.
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From page 157... ...
Losses to pests and diseases are generally low, but as quinoa becomes more intensively and widely planted, more serious problems are likely to emerge.~4 RESEARCH NEEDS The possibilities of improving quinoa genetically are most promising, especially within the Andean region. Various races contain many desirable characteristics, and as the genetics of quince become better understood, it seems likely that types will emerge that can compete on an equal or favorable footing with other grains, both in traditional farming and large-scale commercial production.
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From page 158... ...
Standard agronomic research should include investigations of weed control, plant density, crop-rotation sequences, and planting dates. The potential yield of quinoa is possibly even higher than it is for the true cereals, and the plant has an extraordinary response to fertilizer.
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From page 159... ...
The woody central stem carries alternate leaves, generally pubescent, powdery, smooth (rarely) to lobed; it may be either branched or unbranched, depending on variety and sowing density, and may be green, red, or purple.
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From page 160... ...
A classification based on ecotype recognizes five basic categories:20 · Valley type. Grown in Andean valleys from 2,000-3,600 m, these are tall, branched, and have long growth periods.
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From page 161... ...
Southern Chilean varieties get much rain, altiplano varieties get little. As with any grain crop, quinoa grows best with well-distributed rainfall during early growth and dry conditions during maturation and harvest.
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