Characterization of the yield components and selection of materials for breeding programs of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.)

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is an ancestral species from the Andean region, which is considered as a staple food for its populations. In Colombia, the crop has been gaining economic importance despite little information related to the varietal purity of cultivated materials. The department of Boyaca has a diversity of quinoas with potential for use, which can be an alternative for more productive crops. Thus, the objective of this research was to evaluate the yield and phenological aspects of 30 quinoa genetic materials in Boyaca and establish a selection index to differentiate them according to their yield. It was determined that the phenological cycle of the 30 genetic materials ranged between 144 and 189 days, the estimation of the yield components showed that the variables that contributed the most to the observed phenotypic variation were the panicle length, yield, seed diameter, and weight of 1000 seeds. Through the selection index, it was determined that the materials Quinua Primavera, Amarilla de Marangani and Quinua Peruana, have the potential to increase productivity, since they present high yield, semi-late phenological cycle, large grain size and weight of 1000 seeds between 0.3 and 0.4 g. This research showed that phenotypic variables can be useful for the design of selection tools, oriented to the characteristics of agronomic importance and determined their usefulness to increase the efficiency of quinoa improvement programs.