Optimising agronomic management of the pseudocereals buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench.) and quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) for improved yield and nutritional quality

Abstract

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench.) and quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) are gluten-free pseudocereals which have shown increasing consumer demand in recent years. Both crops can provide agronomic benefits to farmers but remain underutilised, particularly in the UK, because of agroecological limitations and/or limited knowledge/research. The aim of this study was therefore to identify genetic variation and optimise the agronomic management of both crops for improved yield and nutritional quality. Field experiments were carried out over 3 seasons (2016-18) at Nafferton Farm in North-east England to evaluate the effects of sowing date (mid-April vs early-May) and fertilisation (zinc and nitrogen source and rate) on the performance of four buckwheat and three quinoa genotypes. There is clear potential to grow buckwheat and quinoa in the UK where early-May sowing combined with high nitrogen fertilisation rate (150 kg N/ha) are used. The average yields were about 1 t/ha which was similar to the average global production. Both crops were characterised by poor germination in all seasons irrespective of sowing date with an average of 58% across both species in the field trials. The low temperatures in this cool temperate climate leads to an extended life-cycle of 150 – 190 days, resulting in relatively late harvest with high seed losses. Genotype × environment interactions indicated that Cebelica (buckwheat) and Atlas (quinoa) may be suited to the UK agroecological conditions as they produced the highest yields with relatively high grain quality in terms of protein and minerals. In general, buckwheat and quinoa showed concentrations of Fe, Zn, total polyphenols and flavonoids approximately 2-3 times higher than those published for the major cereals wheat, rice and maize. Therefore, despite relatively low yields, there is the potential to develop a UK supply chain of buckwheat and quinoa with relatively high grain quality. Both crops show clear potential especially for low input and organic growers through wider genetic screening programmes, improvements in plant breeding (with the development of more cold tolerant genotypes) and optimisation of agronomic management and harvesting techniques.