Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) is an important food crop in Northeast China. However, intensive cultivation relying on long-term high nitrogen fertilizer input has led to the loss of soil organic carbon and the decline of cultivated land quality in the black soil region, compromising soil sustainability. Therefore, it is urgent to explore a cultivation mode that achieves both stable soybean yield and coordinated improvement of soil sustainability. The application of biochar and straw return presents a promising strategy to enhance crop productivity and agricultural sustainability. However, the mechanisms underlying these improvements, particularly those driven by the combined application of straw and biochar under reduced nitrogen application, remain unclear. From 2022 to 2023, a field experiment was conducted on black-calcium soil using 'Dongnong 55' soybeans. Two biomass-return methods were evaluated: straw addition and a straw-biochar mixture addition, under six treatments: CK (conventional N with full straw return), SN2 (80% N with full straw), SN3 (60% N with full straw), SBN1 (conventional N with straw - biochar mix), SBN2 (80% N with straw - biochar mix), and SBN3 (60% N with straw - biochar mix). The results revealed that straw-biochar co-application improved the soil hydrothermal environment and nutrient supply compared with straw return alone. In the 0-20 cm soil layer, soil moisture content increased by 9.0% - 14.3%, while available N, P, and K increased by 47.5%-48.9%, 56.8%-71.7%, and 28.4%-41.2%, respectively. These improvements enhanced soybean physiological performance, increasing chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, and leaf intrinsic water use efficiency by 12.3%, 20.6%, and 16.9%, respectively. Notably, SBN2 increased soybean yield by 9.3%-11.0% compared with SN2, and maintained a yield statistically comparable to SBN1 despite a 20% reduction in N input. Therefore, SBN2 was identified as the optimal treatment because it maintained soybean yield while reducing N fertilizer input and improving soil water, heat, nutrient supply, and resource-use efficiency. This study provides a valuable reference for managing agricultural straw, biochar utilization, and nitrogen fertilizer.

This study aims to secure the production of quinoa under arid conditions. We believe that sowing methods and irrigation availability may impact the productivity of quinoa in semiarid ecosystems. A two-year (2019 and 2020) study was planned using line-source sprinklers to evaluate the effect of irrigation and sowing methods on quinoa in the Eastern Mediterranean zone of Turkey. The main plots and subplots comprised three sowing methods (single row (Sr), double row (Dr), and triple row (Tr)) and three irrigation (full irrigation: IL1.0; deficit irrigation: IL0.5, and rainfed: IL0.0 treatments), respectively. The highest quinoa yields were produced from full irrigation. The yield response factor (ky) was 1.08–1.34 in Sr, 0.99–1.10 in Dr, and 0.82–1.07 in Tr sowing methods in two consecutive trial years. The oil percentage decreased with increasing irrigation in both years. Protein, ash, oil percentage, and fiber contents decreased with increasing irrigation water in each sowing method, but evapotranspiration (ETa), leaf area index (LAI), plant height, and thousand-seed weight increased in both years. Reducing irrigation levels and increasing sowing rows generally increased soil-borne disease emergence. TrIL1.0 treatment achieved the highest net income in the combined two-year economic appraisal. It is suggested that using the triple sowing row with deficit irrigation significantly improves the seed and oil yield, quality, water use efficiency (WUE), and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) under the ridge sowing technique in semi-arid zones. TrIL0.5 can be recommended as an alternative for regions where irrigation water is limited and costly.

Climate change may result in a drier climate and increased salinization, threatening agricultural productivity worldwide. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) produces highly nutritious seeds and tolerates abiotic stresses such as drought and high salinity, making it a promising future food source. However, the presence of antinutritional saponins in their seeds is an undesirable trait. We mapped genes controlling seed saponin content to a genomic region that includes TSARL1. We isolated desired genetic variation in this gene by producing a large mutant library of a commercial quinoa cultivar and screening the library for specific nucleotide substitutions using droplet digital PCR. We were able to rapidly isolate two independent tsarl1 mutants, which retained saponins in the leaves and roots for defence, but saponins were undetectable in the seed coat. We further could show that TSARL1 specifically controls seed saponin biosynthesis in the committed step after 2,3-oxidosqualene. Our work provides new important knowledge on the function of TSARL1 and represents a breakthrough for quinoa breeding.

Melatonin can be considered a physiological protective agent against environmental stress because of its natural antioxidant ability. The main goal of this study was to investigate the possible melatonin-positive effects on the growth enhancement and drought tolerance of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) cultivars. To accomplish this objective, we compared the effects drought stress (100 % field capacity as control and 40 % field capacity), priming (melatonin priming (MP), hydro priming (HP), non -priming (NP), and cultivars (Titicaca, Giza1). Thus, the obtained results indicated higher oxidative damage, lipid peroxidation, and reduced chlorophyll content, which decreased the seed yield more in Giza1 than in Titicaca in comparison with the control. MP remarkably enhanced endogenous melatonin content, superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity in Titicaca (1.57, 2.50, 1.40, 1.90, and 2 times, respectively) and Giza1 (1.68, 4.50, 4, 2 and 2.6 times, respectively), compared with NP, under drought stress. MP effectively protected Titicaca and Giza1 chlorophylls and carotenoids, while decreasing the malondialdehyde (MDA) content through antioxidant enzyme activation, facilitation of soluble protein, as well as sugar synthesis and osmolyte accumulation. Therefore, MP improved photosynthesis in Titicaca and Giza1 under drought stress compared with NP. Overall, Titicaca showed a relatively higher drought stress tolerance. Furthermore, MP ameliorated the adverse consequences of drought stress and facilitated the recovery of susceptible cultivars such as Giza1 through the enhancement of photosynthetic pigments, antioxidant systems, osmotic adjustment, and secondary metabolite production. The main novelty of the current study is the elucidation of the role of melatonin priming in the induction of drought tolerance in quinoa. (c) 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of SAAB. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) has attracted attention in agricultural community as alternative crop in harsh climatic regions due to its high tolerance level under biotic and abiotic conditions. Natural and synthetic growth enhancers are supposed to boost up the growth, development and economical yield of field crops under normal and unfavourable growing conditions. Two successive field experiments were conducted to explore the impact of moringa leaf extract (MLE), sorghum water extract (sorgaab), hydrogen peroxide and ascorbic acid on growth and grain quality of quinoa cultivated under normal and late sown conditions. MLE at 3%, sorgaab at 3%, hydrogen peroxide at 100 mu M and ascorbic acid at 500 mu M were applied at anthesis stage of crop cultivated during growing seasons of 2016-2017 and 2017-2018. Seeds of quinoa genotype UAF-Q7 were sown at Research Area of Directorate of Farms, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad-Pakistan. All the foliar treatments significantly improved the physiological and growth attributes. Maximum improvement in synthesis of chlorophyll (29% and 12%) and carotenoids contents (42% and 28%) and net rate of photosynthesis (58% and 70%) and respiration (26% and 14%) was recorded by MLE application over control (no spray) under normal and late sowing. Mineral elements, antioxidants activities and seed protein contents were also improved by all foliar treatments but mainly by MLE application. MLE application produced highest grain (47%) and straw (52%) yields under normal and late sown environments. Application of MLE is considered good biostimulant to improve the productivity and yield of quinoa crop cultivated under normal and even in late sown circumstances.

In the context of climate change, especially for the temperate continental climate, new potential crop species are emerging, originating from the tropics. One of them is quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) with multiple benefits for seed and leaf production. Quinoa is native to South America, grown mainly for seeds, with a high ecological plasticity. Little is known about the potential of using quinoa plants as a leafy vegetable for food diversification. In this study, the nutritional and antinutritional content of quinoa leaves was evaluated in three cultivars (Titicaca, Puno, Vikinga), considering different densities and times of sowing. Puno cultivar had a higher total content of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and dietary fibers, and lower mineral contents in leaves. Low levels of antinutrient compounds were found in Vikinga leaves. Regarding the time of the crop establishment, the highest content of primary metabolic compounds (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, dietary fibers) was achieved by April 17, the sowing date. Crop densities of 7.7, 3.2, and 1.6 mil. plants/ha did not significantly influence the content of compounds with antinutritive role, such as oxalates, saponins or trypsin inhibitors. The content of mineral elements such as: Fe, Zn, Na and K were significantly influenced by the cultivar, compared to Mg and Ca whose values were insignificant regardless of the treatment.

Modern agriculture is primarily concerned with enhanced productivity of field crops linked with maximum resources use efficiency to feed the increasing population of the world. Exogenous application of biostimulants is considered a sustainable and ecofriendly approach to improve the growth and productivity of agronomic and horticultural field crops. The present study was carried out to explore the comparative growth enhancing potential of plant biostimulants (moringa leaf extract at 3% and sorghum water extract at 3%) and synthetic growth promoters (ascorbic acid at 500 mu M and hydrogen peroxide at 100 mu M) on growth, productivity and quality of quinoa crop (cultivar UAF-Q7) because it has gained significant popularity among agricultural scientists and farmers throughout the world due to its high nutritional profile. A field experiment was carried out at the Research Area of Directorate of Farms, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan during quinoa cultivation season of 2016-2017 and repeated during next year (2017-2018). All the foliar treatments enhanced the physiological, biochemical, quality, growth and yield attributes of quinoa as compared to control group. However, maximum improvement was observed in chlorophyll a and b contents, photosynthesis and respiration rates, and water use efficiency by moringa leaf extract (MLE) application. MLE application was also found more responsive regarding the improvement in activities of peroxidase, catalase, superoxide dismutase, phenolics and glycine betaine as compared to other treatments. Mineral elements i.e. K, Ca and N in root as well as in shoot were found the highest in response to MLE application. Similarly, growth (plant fresh and dry biomass, plant length and grain yield) and grain quality parameters (protein, K and Ca) were also significantly enhanced. Application of MLE was found to be a viable approach to improve the growth and quality of produce as compared to synthetic compounds.

Quinoa consumption has increased in worldwide importance due to an extraordinary nutritional value and public acceptance as alternative food. Fatty acid profiles of 10 quinoa varieties grown in the same geographical location were analyzed using different chemometric multivariate approaches [variable in importance partial least square discriminant analysis (VIP-PLS-DA), stepwise linear discriminant analysis (S-LDA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), random forests (RF) and canonical analysis of principal components (CAP)]. The application of variable selection approaches such as S-LDA and LDA significantly increased the classification accuracy (78% and 74% respectively) of the samples according to their variety. The S-LDA approach allowed to reduce the number of selected fatty acids, representing those fatty acids with higher statistical significance when applying other random and non-random approaches. These fatty acid profiles also allowed the estimation of the nutritional lipid profiles of each variety for suitability in the human diet, providing insights into the various nutritional qualities of each quinoa variety. It is proposed that these results can be used to facilitate the selection of varieties with optimized economic value.

Stomata are the main medium of plants for the trade of water, regulate the gas exchange, and are responsible for the process of photosynthesis and transpiration. The stomata are surrounded by guard cells, which help to control the rate of transpiration by opening and closing the stomata. The stomata states (open and close) play a significant role in describing the plant’s health. Moreover, stomata counting is important for scientists to investigate the numbers of stomata that are open and those that are closed to measure their density and distribution on the surface of leaves through different sampling techniques. Although a few techniques for stomata counting have been proposed, these approaches do not identify and classify the stomata based on their states in leaves. In this research, we have developed an automatic system for stomata state identification and counting in quinoa leaf images through the transformed learning (neural network model Single Shot Detector) approach. In leaf imprint, the state of stomata has been determined by measuring the correlation between the area of stomata and the aperture of each detected stoma in the image. The stomata states have been classified through the Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm. The overall identification and classification accuracy of the proposed system are 98.6% and 97%, respectively, helping researchers to obtain accurate stomatal state information for leaves in an efficient and simple way.

Soil contamination with Cd and Pb is a worldwide problem which not only degrades the environment but also poses a serious threat for human and animal health. Phytoremediation of these contaminated soils using halophytic plants like quinoa presents an opportunity to clean the soils and use them for crop production. The current experiment was performed to evaluate the Cd and Pb tolerance potential of quinoa and subsequently its implications for human health. Three weeks old quinoa seedlings were exposed to Cd (30, 60 and 90 mg kg−1) and Pb (50, 100 and 150 mg kg−1) levels along with a control. The results revealed that plant height decreased at highest levels of soil Cd and Pb. Shoot, root and seed dry weight decreased with increasing levels of soil Cd and Pb. Tissue Cd and Pb concentrations increased with increasing levels of Cd and Pb in soil, the highest Cd was found in roots while the lowest in seeds. The highest Pb concentration was found in shoots at low Pb level, while in roots at high level of Pb. Increasing levels of Cd and Pb stimulated the activities of measured antioxidant enzymes and decreased membrane stability index. The health risk assessments of Cd and Pb revealed that hazard quotient was < 1 for both the metals. However, the results of total hazard quotient showed that value was < 1 for Pb and 1.19 for Cd showing potential carcinogenicity. This study demonstrates that quinoa has good phytoremediation potential for Cd and Pb however, the risk of Cd toxicity is challenging for human health.

The consumption of high-quality Andean grains (a.k.a. pseudocereals) is increasing worldwide, and yet very little is known about the susceptibility of these crops to mycotoxin contamination. In this survey study, a multi-analyte liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method was utilised to determine mycotoxin and fungal metabolite levels in Andean grains (quinoa and kañiwa) in comparison to cereal grains (barley, oats and wheat), cultivated in both South American (Bolivia and Peru) and North European (Denmark, Finland and Latvia) countries. A total of 101 analytes were detected at varying levels, primarily produced by Penicillium spp., Fusarium spp. and Aspergillus spp., depending on the type of crop, geographical location and agricultural practices used. Generally, Andean grains from South America showed lower mycotoxin contamination (concentration and assortment) than those from North Europe, while the opposite occurred with cereal grains. Mycotoxin contamination profiles exhibited marked differences between Andean and cereal grains, even when harvested from the same regions, highlighting the need for crop-specific approaches for mycotoxin risk mitigation. Lastly, the efficacy of grain cleaning in respect to total mycotoxin content was assessed, which resulted in significantly lower levels (overall reduction approx. 50%) in cleaned samples for the majority of contaminants.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa, Willd.) is an Andean grain crop recognized as an ally for global food security due to its high nutritional value. However, quinoa globalization entails challenges to the countries of origin. Farmers face a scenario of new concerns and competitors. In 2018, quinoa was present for research and production in 123 countries. Although 74% of global exports are still supplied by Peru and Bolivia, production outside the Andes is increasing. In addition, producer prices collapsed in 2015 while yields remained unstable, averaging 0.4-1.1 t ha-1. Understanding the reality of the new quinoa situation is fundamental to face the challenges of encouraging local biodiversity, promoting market diversification and cooperating with inclusive processes towards equitable benefits.

One of the major challenges in agriculture is to ensure sufficient and healthy food availability for the increasing world population in near future. This requires maintaining sustainable cultivation of crop plants under varying environmental stresses. Among these stresses, salinity is the second most abundant threat worldwide after drought. One of the promising strategies to mitigate salinity stress is to cultivate halotolerant crops such as quinoa. Under high salinity, performance can be improved by plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB). Among PGPB, endophytic bacteria are considered better in stimulating plant growth compared to rhizosphere bacteria because of their ability to colonize both in plant rhizosphere and plant interior. Therefore, in the current study, a pot experiment was conducted in a controlled greenhouse to investigate the effects of endophytic bacteria i.e., Burkholderia phytofirmans PsJN on improving growth, physiology and yield of quinoa under salinity stress. At six leaves stage, plants were irrigated with saline water having either 0 (control) or 400 mM NaCl. The results indicated that plants inoculated with PsJN mitigated the negative effects of salinity on quinoa resulting in increased shoot biomass, grain weight and grain yield by 12%, 18% and 41% respectively, over un-inoculated control. Moreover, inoculation with PsJN improved osmotic adjustment and ion homeostasis ability. In addition, leaves were also characterized for five key reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging enzyme in response to PsJN treatment. This showed higher activity of catalase (CAT) and dehydroascobate reductase (DHAR) in PsJN-treated plants. These findings suggest that inoculation of quinoa seeds with Burkholderia phytofirmans PsJN could be used for stimulating growth and yield of quinoa in highly salt-affected soils.

Escalating salinization due to natural and anthropogenic activities is a major threat to sustainability of agriculture over the world. In this situation quinoa can be a good option for salt-affected soils. It is a facultative halophyte which can tolerate salinity levels up to the level of sea water. Due to these characters, interest to grow this crop has increased exponentially in recent years over the globe, and many studies have been conducted to elucidate salt-tolerance mechanisms and to explore growth performance and seed quality under various salt regimes. It seems that quinoa manages excessive Na+ loads efficiently by sequestering it in leaf vacuoles and translocating it to older leaves; it has a good antioxidative defense system, better K+ uptake and retention, and unique modulations in stomatal density and characters. Furthermore, it has been observed that its growth and yield improves at moderate salt regimes, even with higher amounts of protein and some minerals. These characteristics offer opportunities that quinoa can be explored in arid and semiarid regions where crop production of various major crops is severely affected by escalated soil salinization.

At present high-quality protein-rich food sources are increasing to offer a sustainable alternative for the growing world population demand. Plant protein production favors biodiversity, environmental sustainability, and human health.The production of plant proteins is more cost-effective and resource-efficient compared to meat proteins since they are less exigent in terms of natural resources (nitrogen, water, etc.). The natural nitrogen fixation of legumes enriches soils and benefits cropping systems. Reducing red meat consumption and increasing consumption of protein from other sources could also increase health benefits.In this chapter we analyze the production and use of protein crops for human consumption and review their sustainability under Northern and Southern European environments.