Evaluation of quinoa (chenopodium quinoa willd) genotypes on growth and yield performance in northern Tanzania

A set of five quinoa genotypes were evaluated for growth and yield performance under rainfed conditions at the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST)-Arusha and Kibosho in Kilimanjaro respectively during 2018/2019 growing season. The genotypes used were Titicaca, Brightest Brilliant Rainbow (BBR), Multihued, Biobio and QQ74 under three different inter-row spacing (20×10 cm (496 plants), 30×10 cm (310 plants) and 50×10 cm (186 plants)). The split-plot design was used and was replicated four times. Parameters evaluated were days to 50% flowering and maturity, branches per plant, panicle length and width (cm), grain yield (kg/ha), plant height (cm), dry biomass (kg/ha), 1000 seed weight (g/1000 grain weight), harvest index (%) and insects pests. The results indicated significant (P <0.001) differences between the yield performances of the different quinoa genotypes. Genotype BBR gave higher, a yield of 3 639 kg/ha compared to other genotypes, and the lowest yield (2 847 kg/ha) was obtained from QQ74. The findings have revealed that the 20×10 cm inter-row spacing exhibited higher growth and yield parameters under clay loam soils conditions. The Bees (Apis mellifera), Blue silphidae beetle (Necrophila renatae), Black bean aphid (Aphis fabae) and Leaf miners were identified to associate with quinoa in Arusha agro-ecological zone. The current study strongly indicates that quinoa can grow well in Northern Tanzania and thus it can be introduced in different agro-ecological zones of Tanzania. However, there is need to conduct further research in a wide geographical area to assess its performance and pests infestation levels.