Successful quinoa cultivation in the Brazilian Savannah (Cerrado) relies on variety adaptation to its climate and soil conditions. Selected genotypes should be managed properly for maximal commercial yield. Experimentation in various parts of the world has been conducted to determine the population density that results on best use of water, light and nutrients, with soil cover during the biological cycle. The species originated in the Andean Altiplano, under cold nights and low moisture availability; it spread out to valleys and only in the last decades has gained space in other environments. This experiment with genotype 4.5, possessing biological cycle of 120 days, studied the effect of densities, varying between 100x103 to 600x103 plants ha-1, on yield and related parameters. Except for plant height, negatively associated with density increase, grain and biomass yield, harvest index and 1,000 grain weight were not affected. The probable explanation for these results is the extraordinary capacity of quinoa to compensate for missing plants, by increased vigor and branching, although number of days to maturity tends to increase.
Successful quinoa cultivation in the Brazilian Savannah (Cerrado) relies on variety adaptation to its climate and soil conditions. Selected genotypes should be managed properly for maximal commercial yield. Experimentation in various parts of the world has been conducted to determine the population density that results on best use of water, light and nutrients, with soil cover during the biological cycle. The species originated in the Andean Altiplano, under cold nights and low moisture availability; it spread out to valleys and only in the last decades has gained space in other environments. This experiment with genotype 4.5, possessing biological cycle of 120 days, studied the effect of densities, varying between 100x103 to 600x103 plants ha-1, on yield and related parameters. Except for plant height, negatively associated with density increase, grain and biomass yield, harvest index and 1,000 grain weight were not affected. The probable explanation for these results is the extraordinary capacity of quinoa to compensate for missing plants, by increased vigor and branching, although number of days to maturity tends to increase.
