By Margaret Smith, specialist, AgMRC, Iowa State University

Updated May 2017 by Emily N. Tai, graduate student, Huntley College of Agriculture at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Overview

Quinoa (pronounced “keen wah”) is a member of the Goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae) which includes crop plants such as sugar beets, beets, Swiss chard, and spinach along with many weed species. Rather than being a cereal from the Gramineace family, it is a pseudocereal, high in protein, moderate in carbohydrates, and contains no gluten. Quinoa can tolerate water with elevated levels of salt, high winds, frosts, and droughts, which allows it to be cultivated in high-risk climate regions. However, it is not adapted to areas of high heat during the growing season. 

It is native to the Andean region of South America and served as one of the main foods for the Andean. From there, it spread throughout the temperate regions of South America and was cultivated by the Incas before 3000 B.C. They considered quinoa to be sacred, as the “mother of all grains.”

Currently, quinoa cultivation occurs in more than 50 countries, including France, England, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, and Italy. Quinoa is also being developed successfully in Kenya, India, and the United States, and it continues to grow in popularity as a health food in North America, Europe, Australia, and Japan. 

Due to quinoa’s adaptability to different environments as well as its dietary benefits, it has the potential to lessen dependence on staples such as wheat and rice. It can also have benefits for the local environment. Because of these properties, quinoa can potentially be grown in food deserts or places that suffer from food insecurity.

Production

Quinoa is undemanding and altitude hardy, easily cultivated in the Andes up to around 4,000 meters. However, quinoa is susceptible to a leaf miner in eastern North America, which can reduce crop success.

Since the early 1980s, quinoa has been cultivated and commercially produced in the Colorado Rockies, especially in the San Luis Valley. Production research has been conducted in Washington, New York, Colorado, Utah, Minnesota, North Dakota, Virginia, Maine, and Arizona, while commercial production has been attempted in California, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. Currently, the biggest barrier to U.S. quinoa production is climate.

Quinoa optimally grows where temperatures fall below 90 degrees Fahrenheit, since the pollen goes sterile at higher temperatures. It is a warm season crop that requires full sun and germinates best in soil temperature ranges of 65 to 75 degrees. Because of this, quinoa grown in southern Canada or the northern United States is best planted from late April to early June. Most likely, the soil will be moist enough for germination until early June, in which case the plants do not need to be watered until the two leaf stage.

Seedlings generally emerge within four days when soil temperatures are around 60 degrees, but may not germinate if night time temperatures rise too far above that. To compensate for that, seeds can be refrigerated before planting. Quinoa is drought tolerant and will do well on 10 inches of water or less. It will also resist light frosts, especially when the soil is dry.

Quinoa, much like amaranth, prefers sandy loam or loamy sand that is well drained. It prefers moderate salinity, with a pH ranging from 6.0 to 8.5. The seeds should be sown a quarter inch deep, in rows that are 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 feet apart, or enough to allow a rototiller through without damaging the plants. Planting can be done either by hand or with a row seeder, and the crop should eventually be thinned to 6 to 18 inches apart. While quinoa is usually grown in rows, it can also be broadcast. To determine which method is best, check the nearest field research for recommendations.

When the plant approaches a foot in height, it will grow more rapidly and close in its canopy, allowing it to shade out weeds and reduce evaporation based moisture loss. Weeding can likewise be discouraged through cultivation or mulching.

Because quinoa can cross with its wild relatives, it is important to weed out red-rooted pigweed and lamb’s quarters in order to maintain a pure seed. Amaranth cultivars and different quinoa cultivars will cross over, so each separate cultivar should be grown with as much distance between them as possible.

At full maturity, quinoa will be 3 to 7 feet high, with small, flat, circular seeds.

Processing/Manufacturing

Quinoa is ready for harvest when the leaves have fallen and only the dried seed heads remain. Seeds can be simply stripped upwards off of the stalk with a gloved hand. In the case of frost, a seed past the green stage will probably not be damaged, and harvesting can happen a day or two later. However, extremely hot weather and warm nights can prevent fruit set. Near germination, the weather needs to be watched, since rain can cause the dry seeds to germinate. If the heads are not completely dry, they can be harvested when the seed can barely be indented with a fingernail. These seeds should be thoroughly dried before storage.

Quinoa should be cleaned with screens, by winnowing, with a fan, or with other blowing devices. It is important to dry the crop, which can be done with trays in the hot sun or near an indoor heat source so that it doesn’t mold in storage. The seeds should be stirred occasionally until as dry as possible, then they can be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. 

Quinoa grains have a bitter saponin coating that deters birds and insects from eating them and that needs to be removed before consumption. This can either be accomplished by polishing – which removes the saponin coat but also refines it like white rice, white flour, or pearled barley – or washed in a three-step process that cleans the saponin without removing vital nutrients. Polished quinoa has half the fiber of washed quinoa, along with lower protein, vitamin, and mineral levels. The saponin that is removed has commercial uses as pharmaceutical steroids, soaps, detergents, shampoos, cosmetics, and synthetic hormones.

There are ongoing breeding attempts to develop saponin-free quinoa varieties. Currently, quinoa can be classified as sweet (saponin-free or containing less than 0.11 percent saponin) or bitter (more than 0.11 percent saponin). While the sweet varieties require less processing before market, they may be more susceptible to bird production. 

Once processed and properly dried, quinoa can last for several years stored in a dry kitchen cabinet.

Financial Analysis

A gram of quinoa seeds will sow around 50 feet (15 m) of the row, with an acre requiring about a pound of seed. 

In the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta, the cost of production per acre in Canadian dollars was $175.54 ($131.14 USD) for conventional quinoa and $108.55 ($81.09 USD) for organic quinoa. They found that conventional quinoa, yielding 800 pounds per acre and priced at $0.30 per pound, returned more money per acre than canola but less than wheat. Organic quinoa, on the other hand, yielded 400 pounds per acre at $0.60 per pound, resulting in a return 2.5 times greater than that of canola and almost twice that of wheat. 

Canadian researchers have reported that the cost of quinoa production is cheapest in Ecuador, intermediate in Canada, and more expensive in the United States.

Marketing

From 1992 to2010, cultivated area of quinoa in the main producing countries (Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador) almost doubled while production almost tripled. In 2009, production in the Andean region reached approximately 70,000 tons. (FAO) In 2013, the United States imported nearly 70 million pounds of quinoa, mostly from Peru and Bolivia. 

The price of quinoa has also increased dramatically, nearly tripling between 2006 and 2013 due to high demand in the United States and Europe. Prices started to drop in 2015 indicating a better balance of supply and demand, but there is nevertheless a strong market for quinoa even today. 

Quinoa leaves can be eaten as a leaf, like an amaranth, though the current commercial availability is limited. In addition, the thinning from quinoa production can be incorporated into salads. Quinoa leaves can also be used for livestock feed. 

Grain quinoa can be used in side dishes similarly to rice, flaked as a breakfast cereal, added to snack foods and pasta, in multigrain infant cereals, and in ground flour. Because quinoa is gluten free, it reduces bread volume by more than 10 percent when baked. 

Starch grains in quinoa are very small, much like those in taro, and it contains less amylose than most commercial starches. It can be used for cream substitutes and dusting in some candy applications. 

Quinoa has a higher protein content (14 to 18 percent) than other grains, with a strong amino acid balance. Since it is high in lysine, methionine, and cystine, quinoa complements other grains and legumes, which are deficient in these nutrients. Quinoa also has a higher energy content than barley, oats, rice, corn, and wheat, as well as higher levels of calcium, phosphorus, iron, fiber, and B vitamins. It yields about 5.8 percent oil by weight. 

Because it is hardy and can grow anywhere from sea level to 4,000 meters above sea level, quinoa could be beneficial to improve food security in at-risk regions.

Links

• Quinoa, A Plant With a Lot of Potential
  
• Crop Production---Quinoa, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations (UN).
  
• International Year of Quinoa 2013, FAO, UN.
  
• Quinoa, Alternative Field Crops Manual, University of Wisconsin Extension Service, the University of Minnesota Center for Alternative Plant and Animal Products, and the Minnesota Extension Service, 1992 - This publication provides some costs of production and estimates of market prices as well as other production information.
  
• Quinoa: An Ancient Crop to Contribute to World Food Security, FAO, UN, 2011.
  
• Quinoa in Lost Crops of the Incas: Little Known Crops of the Andes with Promise for Worldwide Cultivation National Academy Press, 1989 - This book excerpt provides 13 pages of background, prospective and other information about quinoa.
  
• Quinoa, Mother Grain of the Incas, planeta.com, 1999 - This article gives details of the rise and fall of quinoa in the world, its cultivation details and its nutritional details.
  
• Quinoa: The Dark Side of an Andean Superfood, Time magazine, 2012 - This article outlines the rapid growth in demand from U.S. and European markets and the resulting impact on Bolivian growers.
  
• Quinoa: Improvement and Sustainable Production 2015.
  
• Quinoa: The Next Cinderella Crop for Alberta?, Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Canada, 2005.
  
• International Quinoa Trade. In State of the Art Report on Quinoa Around the World in 2013.
  
• Quinoa in the Untied State of America and Canada. In State of the Art Report on Quinoa Around the World in 2013. 
  
• http://www.fao.org/quinoa/en/
  
• http://www.heirloom-organics.com/guide/va/guidetogrowingquinoa.html 
  
• http://www.naturalnews.com/008096_quinoa_whole_grain_Ecuador.html#ixzz2LT3rVdLi
  
• http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/afu9961/$FILE/quinoa_final_report_june_05.pdf

Food Companies

• Keen Ingredients, Denver, Colorado - This business specializes in making products derived from quinoa, such as flour, starch and oil.
• Quinoa Corporation, Carson, California.
• Northern Quinoa Corporation, Canada
• White Mountain Farm - This certified organic family farm located in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado produces and direct markets organic quinoa and potatoes. The farm was the first large-scale quinoa operation in North America.

Seed Suppliers

• Backyard Beans and Grains Project, Lynden, Washington - Source of quinoa seeds.
• Wild Garden Seed, Philomath, Oregon - Source of quinoa seeds.

Other Resources

USDA ARS North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station The national collection of wild accessions and improved varieties of quinoa are maintained at the North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station in Ames, Iowa. The station’s mission is to: ‘expand the genetic diversity of priority plant genetic resource (PGR) collections, to improve associated information and information management tools that facilitate their conservation and utilization in research and crop improvement’.
Individuals interested in breeding and/ or further developing Quinoa may obtain a sample of 200 seeds of any accession from the Chenopodium quinoa  Wild. germplasm curator, David Brenner.

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