Evaluation of agro-morphological traits of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) under different environmental conditions

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) exhibits remarkable adaptability to different agroecological conditions,but there are still challenges in introducing it to new environments, especially those in northern latitudes. Thisstudy investigates the impact of genotype, season, sowing density (5 and 10 cm between plants), and theirinteraction on agro-morphological traits of quinoa cultivars (Puno and Titicaca). Seasonal variations, primarilyinfluenced by precipitation, significantly affected all analyzed traits (plant height, number of side branches andflower branches, biomass and grain yield per plant) with the highest values recorded in a favorable season. Theseason factor had the greatest influence in the variation of grain yield, with a share of 89.7% in the totalvariation. Grain yield per plant was 31.41 g in the favorable season compared to 14.64 g in the less favorableseason. The significance of the Genotype × Season interaction in variation of plant height, number of sidebranches and biomass production per plant, as well as the significance of the Season × Sowing densityinteraction in biomass production, highlighted the importance of these factors to optimize cultivation practicesand increase quinoa productivity in different environmental conditions. Principal component analysis (PCA)highlighted the interrelationships among agro-morphological traits, where in less favorable environments grainyield was most closely related to biomass, number of side branches and number of flower branches. Lowersowing density (10 cm between plants) may be more favorable for achieving high values across all analyzedtraits, particularly increasing the number of flower branches (16.75 at lower density and 14.61 at higherdensity). The ‘Puno’ genotype stands out with a pronounced adaptability to less favorable environmentalconditions, especially at lower sowing density. In contrast, the ‘Titicaca’ genotype stands out for its high biomassproduction, especially in the second season (74.9 g).