Biotechnologie, Agronomie, Société et Environnement (Jan 2008)
La quinoa en Bolivie : une culture ancestrale devenue culture de rente
Abstract
Quinoa in Bolivia: an ancestral crop changed to a cash crop with " organic fair-trade " labeling. This paper presents a review of the litterature on the physiology and diversity of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.). Since about 15 years, this Andean crop experiences a great commercial success in the organic and fair-trade food networks. Selected and cultivated for thousands of years in the Andean highlands, quinoa shows a remarkable tolerance to environmental stresses, particularly to drought and cold. The present knowledges on quinoa physiology, though fragmentary, show a high cold resistance of the plants, and the capacity to recover high photosynthetic activity after drought. Under field conditions, the genetic diversity in local landraces and the crop practices also contribute notably to the adaptation of quinoa to climatic hazards.
