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The introduction of quinoa into new growing regions and environments is of interest to farmers, consumers, and stakeholders around the world. Many plant breeding programs have already started to adapt quinoa to the environmental and agronomic conditions of their local fields. Formal quinoa breeding efforts in Washington State started in 2010, led by Professor Kevin Murphy out of Washington State University. Preharvest sprouting appeared as the primary obstacle to increased production in the coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest. Preharvest sprouting (PHS) is the undesirable sprouting of seeds that occurs before harvest, is triggered by rain or humid conditions, and is responsible for yield losses and lower nutrition in cereal grains. PHS has been extensively studied in wheat, barley, and rice, but there are limited reports for quinoa, partly because it has only recently emerged as a problem. This study aimed to better understand PHS in quinoa by adapting a PHS screening method commonly used in cereals. This involved carrying out panicle-wetting tests and developing a scoring scale specific for panicles to quantify sprouting. Assessment of the trait was performed in a diversity panel (N = 336), and the resulting phenotypes were used to create PHS tolerance rankings and undertake a GWAS analysis (n = 279). Our findings indicate that PHS occurred at varying degrees across a subset of the quinoa germplasm tested and that it is possible to access PHS tolerance from natural sources. Ultimately, these genotypes can be used as parental lines in future breeding programs aiming to incorporate tolerance to PHS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ten advanced breeding lines of quinoa were evaluated for their physicochemical and functional characteristics. These novel breeding lines were used in two model foods, including cookies and cooked grains, to understand the influence of their characteristics on the product quality. The cookies were baked using whole quinoa flour, and the quality attributes of texture, physical dimensions, and color were measured. The whole quinoa grains were cooked with water at a 1:4 (w/w) grain‐to‐water ratio, and quality attributes including water uptake (WU‐G), bulk density (BD‐G), and cooking loss (CL‐G) were measured. Significant differences in the quality of both products as an impact of the breeding lines were observed. In baked cookies, the WAQ2 variety produced cookies with the lowest diameter, whereas cookies prepared with WAQ1 were significantly softer than other varieties. In terms of cooked quinoa, WAQ8 exhibited the highest WU‐G while WAQ1 showed the highest CL‐G. Correlations were observed between flour characteristics and final product quality. Cookie height was negatively correlated with protein content, whereas the water solubility index (WSI) of flours had a positive effect on the cookie hardness. The cooking characteristics of quinoa grains were found to be correlated with the thermal properties of whole quinoa flour. The results of this study will help determine the advanced breeding lines for release as commercial varieties and will also provide food processors with information to find suitable quinoa varieties for different food applications. Practical Application: New quinoa breeding lines have been developed to be grown in the climate conditions of Washington State. These varieties were characterized to find correlations with food quality for cookies and cooked grains. The results from this study will help farmers navigate among the quinoa varieties and help commercial food producers use the optimal quinoa variety for their specific food products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop diversification often promotes farm sustainability. However, proper management of newly introduced crops is difficult when pests are unknown. Characterizing herbivore dynamics on new crops, and how they respond to agronomic factors, is crucial for integrated pest management. Here we explored factors affecting Lygus spp. (Hemiptera: Miridae) herbivores in quinoa crops of Washington State. Quinoa is a newly introduced crop for North America that has multiple varieties and a range of agronomic practices used for cultivation. Through arthropod surveys and discussions with growers, we determined that Lygus spp. was the most abundant insect herbivore and likely contributed to low quinoa yields in previous seasons. We assessed how different varieties (Pison and QQ74), irrigation regimes (present and not), and planting methods (direct-seeded and transplanted) affected Lygus population dynamics. Lygus phenology was correlated with timing of quinoa seed-set in July and August, corresponding to a period when quinoa is most susceptible to Lygus. Both irrigation and planting manipulations had significant effects on Lygus abundance. Irrigation reduced Lygus abundance compared with nonirrigated plots in 2018. Planting method had a significant effect on Lygus populations in both 2017 and 2018, but effects differed among years. Variety had a significant effect on Lygus abundance, but only in nonirrigated plots. Overall, our study shows that Lygus is a common insect herbivore in quinoa, and careful selection of variety, planting method, and irrigation regime may be key components of effective control in seasons where Lygus abundance is high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concern is expressed in the literature that as agriculture industrializes, regionality is lost; and with it, social, economic and environmental benefits. The example of oats in western Washington provides an opportunity to examine forces driving agricultural evolution during the twentieth century and to reflect on whether and to what degree they reveal changes in the extent and nature of regionality in agriculture over time. Research based on historic literature explores five themes which highlight different ways in which the disappearance of the oat crop from western Washington was associated with the decline of regionality in its agriculture. Whereas regionally grown oats as horse feed were once an important energy source for transport and machinery in western Washington, they have been superseded by fossil fuels following mechanization. Oats were eclipsed in importance as livestock and poultry feed by corn and soy, preferred by a professionalized animal feed production industry and better supported by agricultural policy and research. Regional milling operations for food oats have also given way to industrial scale production in national centers. Increased need for farmers to participate in the monetized economy drove them away from the small grains, whose market value has declined as their commoditization progressed. Lastly, the role of oats as an agronomic tool for weed and disease control was undermined by crop protection chemicals. Oats thus exemplify evolution away from regional self sufficiency and towards greater integration with national and global markets by western Washington farmers. While the process was in part compelled by wider developments in agriculture and industry, it was also self-driven: regional farmers and agriculture sector leaders embraced opportunities to grow cash crops and participate in national and global markets from an early stage of western Washington's agricultural history. In a more recent phase of agricultural evolution, social interest in and consumer demand for local and regional agriculture are growing. This phase represents deliberate choice of regionality in the knowledge that it is neither necessary for farmers nor the cheapest possible option for consumers. Reinvented roles for oats are becoming possible in the present context and demonstrate a new and more purposeful approach to regionality which leverages technology and the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]