MUSCAT -- Scientists at the Department of Crop Science of the College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University is all set to start field trial of quinoa, a pseudo-cereal plant species which also have medicinal and ornamental values and industrial worth. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) belongs to goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae), and this family contains large number of plant species. Many of these species growth habits are annual, perennial (herbs or sub-shrubs) and little grow like shrubs, climbers or trees. Numerous species of this family carry commercial significance for example, spinach and beetroots are largely consumed as vegetable, quinoa is known as pseudo-cereal, and some have medicinal and ornamental value while several others have shown industrial worth for making soda ash indirectly.
Dr Mumtaz Khan, Associate Professor in the Crop Sciences Department, who is leading the field trail at SQU Agricultural Experiment Station, said that at present domesticated quinoa ecotypes have diverse characters which makes it a peculiar crop to be used for different purposes eg for making soaps, toasting, grains, flour, and high nutritional enhancement. "Quinoa is known for its high protein content compared to other plant foods while it carries little lower protein compared to most legume crops. Quinoa also has a favourable balance between its essential amino acid contents compared to other plant foods. It has been proven that quinoa is a good source of energy and dietary fibre, and has significant amounts of minerals such as iron/zinc and antioxidants too," he said.
Dr Khan further said that quinoa has shown wide range of adaptability to climate and can be grown from -4 to +35 degree Celsius or even at higher temperatures. "Some Quinoa varieties can be grown successfully under extreme drought and salinity conditions. The diversity of this plant brands it a climate smart crop. It generally takes 160-180 days from sowing to reach harvest maturity," he added. The geographic distribution of world quinoa production is focused to Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, extending from 5° north latitude to 43° south latitude. The ability of different varieties of quinoa to be grown at different altitudes and climate zones are which gives quinoa great potential to improve food security globally.
Experimental assessments have been started to explore the quinoa cultivation in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Recognising the importance and acknowledging the contribution of indigenous peoples of the Andes, who maintained, controlled, protected and preserved quinoa as food for present and coming generations, the United Nations has affirmed year 2013 as 'International Year of Quinoa' (IYQ). Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is encouraging and making available all their technical support to member countries in promoting quinoa cultivation and ensuring world food security through such new crop initiatives.
Scientists at the Department of Crop Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University have been working on procuring seed material from the sister organisations and planned to initiate its field trial in Fall 2014. The initial plan is to screen the range of quinoa biotypes on the basis of their field trial performance and later to conduct certain precise experiments to assess the selected plant material against drought or salinity tolerance and crop productivity or quality factors. "We hope that this could be a new crop to Omani agriculture which would need sufficient time to come up with recommendations whether it can be an alternate commercial crop to Omani agriculture or not," Dr Khan concluded.
© Oman Daily Observer 2014
