Quinoa in Italy: research and perspectives

An increasing number of studies have been performedin recent years in Italy on quinoa (Chenopodiumquinoa Willd.). Interest in this Andean seedcrop is mainly due to its resistance to the abioticstresses affecting Mediterranean agro-ecosystems,in particular drought and salinity, and to the highnutritional value of its seeds. The principal researchactivities in Italy currently focus on the agronomic,biological and nutritional aspects of quinoa. Severalfield trials were carried out at CNR-ISAFoM inErcolano (Napoli) to evaluate, in terms of growth,yield and physiological aspects, the adaptability ofquinoa to Italian pedoclimatic conditions, and thecrop's response to different agronomic managementpractices. Post-harvest chemical and productanalyses were also performed to evaluate seedquality and aptitude for food processing. Quinoa'stolerance to salinity stress was investigated undercontrolled environmental conditions at the Universityof Bologna, where morphological and metabolicresponses were analysed. All of these studieswere conducted within national and internationalresearch projects with the collaboration of foreignresearch centres (CEAZA, Chile) and universities(University of Copenhagen), mainly using plant materialselected in Denmark or sourced from the Andeanregion. This chapter describes the results ofthe main research activities carried out in the lastdecade by Italian institutions and discusses the potentialfor the introduction