The Extraordinary Salt Tolerance of Quinoa

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.