Quinoa, Chenopodium quinoa, provides a new host for native herbivores in northern Europe: Case studies of the moth, Scrobipalpa atriplicella, and the tortoise beetle, Cassida nebulosa

Abstract

The Andean grain, quinoa, Chenopodium quinoa Willd. (Caryophyllales: Amaranthaceae), is gaining increasing attention as a future food and fodder crop in Denmark and other parts of Europe. Prior to 2005, pest problems in the crop were negligible in Denmark, however native insects may become adapted to this new host. Herbivores feeding on the closely related and very common weed in arable crops Chenopodium album L. present a special risk. In 2006 there was a heavy attack of Scrobipalpa atriplicella (Röslerstamm) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) larvae in the maturing inflorescence of C. quinoa. Gelechiidae are the most important pests on C. quinoa in the Andean region. In 2007 another herbivore on C. album, the tortoise beetle Cassida nebulosa L. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), was a serious problem on C. quinoa in southern Jutland. This is the first published record of these two pests on C. quinoa. The future pest status of C. quinoa in northern Europe is discussed.