Alternative Rotational Crops
Managing quinoa to optimize soil health and nutrition
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) has gained popularity in recent years for its adaptability to a wide range of growing regions, stress tolerance, and unique nutritional composition. Despite a long history of cultivation in South America, it is a relatively new crop to the PNW and there are key knowledge gaps related to fertility management, harvest timing, and the effect of environment on nutritional composition. Through our research at the NWREC, and in collaboration with quinoa growers in Western Washington, we aim to understand how organic nutrient amendments, soil health status, and saponins (a bitter plant-derived chemical coating the outside of quinoa seeds) affect quinoa nutritional profiles. Our findings will help develop nutrient management guidelines and a roadmap for quinoa growers looking to improve their soils’ health and the nutritional quality of the quinoa they grow. We are partnering with quinoa breeders, food scientists, and gut microbiome specialists on this work, which is funded by a FFAR Seeding Solutions grant led by Dr. Kevin Murphy.
Breeding and managing buckwheat for ecosystem services
Common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is frequently used as a summer crop to suppress weeds, improve soil stability, and attract pollinators, but the grain has important culinary uses as well. The WSU Sustainable Seed Systems Lab and Bread Lab are working to breed buckwheat varieties that work well for local farmers and can be used for various culinary purposes. Through the Soil to Society project, we are testing these varieties to evaluate the soil and agroecosystem benefits they provide in rotation with diversified vegetable systems and to optimize agronomic management like seeding rates and planting dates.
Learn more:
- Here is a useful Extension publication on Buckwheat Production West of the Cascades
Who’s involved?
Evan Domsic
Working on quinoa
Annah Young
Working on buckwheat and perennial wheat