Phenotyping of Quinoa ( Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) Genotypes for Morphological, Yield and Nutritional Quality Traits

Quinoa ( Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is regarded as a superfood due to its exceptionally high nutritional value and ability to withstand stress. Six quinoa genotypes (viz., SAU Quinoa-1, Regalona, GPBQ-1, GPBQ-2, GPBQ-3, and GPBQ-4) were characterized for morphological, yield, and nutritional quality attributes while being grown under the agro-climatic conditions of Bangladesh. The fi eld experiment was carried out in the winter season (November 2022-March 2023) at the Agronomy Field Laboratory of the Department of Agronomy, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, using a randomized complete block design with three replications. Data on various qualitative and quantitative traits related to growth and yield-attributes were recorded. A large variability was observed among the genotypes for growth habit, stem color, panicle shape, and panicle color at maturity. The whitish color of the seed was found in GPBQ-3 which indicates less saponin content as confirmed by saponin test. Yield attributing quantitative traits (viz., days to fi rst fl owering, days to maturity, plant height, stem diameter, panicle weight, 1000-seed weight, yield plant-1, above-ground biomass, and harvest index) also showed significant variation among the genotypes studied. Genotypes SAU Quinoa-1 and GPBQ-2 were identified as early maturing genotypes. The higher yield plant-1 was recorded in GPBQ-1 and GPBQ-3 genotypes. The phenotypic coefficient of variation for the majority of the traits evaluated was slightly higher than the corresponding genotypic coeffi- cient of variation. For stem diameter, panicle weight, 1000-seed weight, yields plant-1, and above-ground biomass, high heritability and high genetic advancement were seen as percentages of the mean. Yield plant-1 showed significant positive correlation with days to fi rst fl owering, days to maturity, plant height, stem diameter, panicle weight, and above-ground biomass (0.568*, 0.812***, 0.744***, 0.895***, 0.993***, and 0.985***, respectively). The fi rst two components accounted for 85.5% of the overall variation among the genotypes, according to principal component analysis. Significant variability was also found for seed mineral contents (viz., calcium, copper, iron, potassium, magnesium, manganese, and zinc) in the studied genotypes. The SAU Quinoa-1 genotype contained the highest amount of calcium and zinc, whereas, the highest amount of potassium was recorded in the GPBQ-1 genotype. We found a non-significant variability in carbohydrate, protein, fat, fi ber, and vitamins (viz., thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and folic acid) contents in the studied genotypes. Considering all the yield and nutritional quality traits under study, the genotypes GPBQ-1, GPBQ-3, and GPBQ-4 were selected for future variety development program.