2.5 Current Typology to Describe the Diversification and Utilization of the Quinoas in South America
From many generations of farmers’ selection, quinoa today presents high variability and genetic diversity that allows it to adapt to different ecological environments (valleys, highlands, salt flats, etc.). It can tolerate different relative humidity conditions (from 40% to 88%), a large range of altitudes (from sea level up to 4000 m) and a wide range of temperatures (from −8°C to 38°C). This shows its high adaptation to climate change and its potential for agricultural development in other parts of the world. But, in order to understand where the quinoas could be used in the future, we need to better understand the diversity of the actual contexts of cultivation in its area of origin.
Different types of quinoa exist in the Andean region whose characteristics vary from one agroecological zone to another. They differ in behaviour, phenology, morphology, cultivation technology, resistance to biotic and abiotic factors and utilization. There are eight quinoa typologies to describe its diversification and utilization according to its agroecological zone: the Altiplano (northern Andean highlands); the shore of salt lakes (southern Andean highlands); the inter-Andean valleys; arid zones and dry conditions (eastern Andean highlands); high altitudes and cool climates; coastal regions and near the sea; jungle and tropical zones; high rainfall and humidity zones. Wild relatives of quinoa have both nutritional and medicinal uses.
2.5.1 Quinoas of the Altiplano (northern Andean highlands)
This zone, lying near Lake Titicaca and the northern highlands, represents a relatively temperate and watered region. Annual average precipitation is about 600 mm, which determines various possibilities for diversifiying the cropping system. Quinoa is associated with other crops such as potato, barley, oats, beans and various tubers. Quinoa from this region is mainly produced for home consumption or local markets. The associated crops that are present in the lake region are often rare and do not appear in the rest of the Bolivian Highland because precipitation decreases sharply to the south. In the northern and central highlands, soils are relatively rich in water and minerals; quinoa seed is broadcast or sown in rows, unlike the southern highlands where it is grown in pockets to optimize water resources.
In this zone, the quinoas are small plants of different colours adapted to the shores of Lake Titicaca, and have a variable content of saponin and a vegetative period of 6 months. They produce small to medium grains, have less resistance to cold and drought, and can sometimes grow in saline soils. They are generally sown in aynokas, an ancestral system of management and utilization (Mujica and Jacobsen, 2000), or in a mixture of varieties. Plants in the highlands are little branched and have a unique panicle, with abundant foliage. In this part of the northern highlands, quinoas are moderately resistant to mildew (Peronospora farinosa Fr.), and are attacked by young plants cutters (Feltia experta Walker), Kona Kona (Eurisacca quinoae Povolny), and by birds on the shore of Lake Titicaca. When there is a moisture deficit, the lower leaves turn yellow and drop off. These quinoas of the northern highlands are usually called Jiura. They normally require an annual rainfall of between 700 and 800 mm, and can grow at an altitude of 3850 m. Examples of names for theses quinoas include Kancolla, Blanca de July, Chullpi and Pasankalla in Puno, Peru and La Paz, Bolivia.
2.5.2 Quinoas from the Salares (southern highlands)
In the highlands, quinoa can grow up to an altitude of 4200 m, its extreme limit of cultivation (Bazile et al., 2011). In the southern Altiplano with the Salar de Uyuni at its centre, there are all the conditions of a typical cold desert, perched up to 3600 m above sea level and surrounded by volcanoes. Rainfall averages 350 mm on the north part of the Salar, but rarely exceeds 150 mm on the south shore, with over 200 days of frost per year.
Quinoa plots are frequently observed on the flanks of the volcanoes (Tunupa, for example) in this region. Quinoa is traditionally cultivated in the middle of lava blocks, to which different local varieties are adapted.
Another traditional agricultural landscape of quinoa is plots scattered on the slopes, where frosts are less frequent than on the plains and lowlands, which are left to pasture. In the south of the Salar, with only 150 mm of rainfall per year, quinoa fields are located in the lowlands. Throughout the region of the Salar (north and south), the plots are cultivated only every two years to allow the necessary soil water accumulation for the crop cycle. Here, quinoa is really the only plant cultivated because of the extreme conditions of this cold high-altitude desert. But in this area mechanization has revolutionized the production system. As a result, quinoa has been able to respond to international market demand, initially from Peru in the 1980s and North America and Europe from the 1990s. The slopes are inaccessible to tractors, so mechanization has been used on the plains. Farmers have converted their pastures to vast monocultures.
Plants of the southern highlands are large, branched, have different colours, large grain size (2.2–2.9 mm) (Bertero et al., 2004) and high saponin content. They are drought resistant, adapted to saline and sandy soils of the shore of salt lakes, and have specific mechanisms of absorption, partition and excretion of salts (Mujica et al., 2010a, 2010b). Traditional technology involves planting in holes, using wide plant spacing and sowing in soil reclaimed from Thola (Parastrephia quadrangularis (Meyen) Cab). Plants are susceptible to Eurisacca quinoae Povolny and Peronospora farinosa Fr., which are adapted to high, dry and cold conditions.
The quinoas of this region are called ‘Quinoa Real’ in the international market. They correspond to a group of landraces from this specific desert region with low annual rainfall (150–350 mm) and high altitude (3800–4200 m). Although quinoas have the same commercial appellation, it is possible to identify under them a high diversity, such as Pandela, Utusaya, Toledo, Achachino, which are well adapted to grow in the Uyuni salt flats: Salinas de Garci Mendoza, Coipasa, Llica in Bolivia, Colchane in Chile and Quebrada del Toro in Argentina.
2.5.3 Quinoas from Inter Andean Valleys
In the Andean valleys, quinoa can be grown in the more fertile soils and warmer climate. However, this is determined by the moisture level, which affects production by increasing sensitivity to parasitic attacks. So quinoa is generally produced on small and medium plots, mostly for home consumption.
Plants are tall and branched, with large leaves, producing large to small grains of different colours, and have a long vegetative period. The green leaves are used as a leafy vegetable. Plants are susceptible to mildew and can have high or low saponin content. In the Andean valleys, quinoa is not cultivated as a sole crop, but is usually associated with maize, beans, and potatoes and other tubers (Mujica, 2009). These types grow at altitudes of 2500–3200 m in areas having an annual rainfall of 800–900 mm. They are usually called ‘Quinua’ and grouped by their genetic and phenotypic characteristics (Medina et al., 2004).
Examples of this varietal diversity include Amarilla de Marangani, Blanca de Junín, Acostambo, Roja Coporaque and Nariño. They are located in Peru in the Valle del Vilcanota, Cusco; Valle del Mantaro, Huancayo; Callejon de Huaylas, Ancash; Valle del Colca, Arequipa; Huancabamba, Piura; Cajabamba, Cajamarca; and also Chimborazo in Ecuador and Cochabamba in Bolivia.
2.5.4 Quinoas from arid zones and dry conditions (western highlands)
Quinoas of this region are small with a short vegetative period because of the environmental conditions (only two rainy months), and show morphological, physiological, anatomical, biochemical and phenological modifications to withstand drought stress (Mujica et al., 2010c). They grow in areas above 3900 m with an annual rainfall of 150–350 mm. Plants have