STUDIES ON THE ADAPTATION OF QUINOA (CHENOPODIUM QUINOA WILLD.) TO EASTERN ANATOLIA REGION OF TURKEY

Abstract

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.), an Andean crop, is native food plant of highnutritional value and its cultivation is increasing rapidly in the World. Backgroundstudies should be conducted on the determination of appropriate quinoa varietiesfor different ecologies for its cultivation to become widespread in a healthy way.This study was conducted in 2015 and 2016 in Erzurum and Igdir non-irrigationconditions in the Eastern Anatolia of Turkey. The locations have differentecological characteristics from each other. The field experiments were conductedwith 9 varieties in each location in a randomized complete blocks experimentaldesign with four replications. The grain yield and some related characteristics wereexamined in the study. The grain yield and related characteristics of quinoa variedsignificantly depending on varieties and locations in the study. According to thetwo-year results, quinoa cultivation is a risky in Erzurum which has a high altitudeand short vegetation period. The grain yields ranged between 110-599 kg ha-1 andwas found to be quite low. In the Igdır location, 933-1646 kg ha-1 of seed yield wasobtained from the varieties. The earliest cultivar is Q-52, it has matured in Erzurumat 102 days, Igdir at 118 days. The latest maturation (138 days) was determined inthe Oro de Valle cultivar in Igdir conditions. According to these results, moquArrochilla, Q-52, Oro de Valle, French Vanilla and Rainbow cultivars can berecommended for non-irrigated conditions of these locations provided that it isseeded early in the spring. However, Erzurum and similar locations are not suitablefor the agriculture of this plant due to short plant growing period.