Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) Production in the Andean Region: Challenges and Potentials

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) has functional and nutritional value due to its content of amino acids, antioxidants, vitamins, carbohydrates, starch and oil. It is a crop with a wide geographic distribution in the Andean Region, where the greatest diversity of crop forms, genotypes and wild progenitors is found. It is a short day’s photoperiod plant, with efficient use of water, photosynthesis and stomatal conductance. It prefers loam-sandy to clay loam well-drained soils because it is sensitive to excess moisture. It requires from 10 to 18°C with a thermal oscillation of 5 to 7°C. In Ecuador, quinoa grows between 2500 - 3600 masl; however, in Peru and Bolivia quinoa grows from sea level to 4000 masl. The luminosity of 5 to 7 h day-1 is suitable to meet transpiration and photosynthetic processes. Quinoa is a crop that has all the essential amino acids, suitable mineral elements, vitamins and does not contain gluten. Regarding fertilization, quinoa is highly demanding of N, P, K and Ca. The production volume of quinoa in the Andes is approximate of 180000 t y-1 and uses around 191000 ha, with Peru (the leading world producer) reaching the highest production (105000 t, 69000 ha), followed by Bolivia (75000 t, 121000 ha) and Ecuador (12000 t, 7000 ha). The demand for quinoa has increases in USA (60%) and Europe (90%), but those areas have not the agronomic conditions for quinoa´s growth. This opens an international market opportunity for Andean countries. Nevertheless, quinoa´s production faces several challenges.