Application Potential of Quinoa as Forage

Wei LU, Jianhan HE, Meiyan PEI, Zhimin WEI, Chuan LU*

1. The Semi-arid Agriculture Engineering & Technology Research Center of P. R. China, Shijiazhuang 050000, China; 2. Institute of Crops, Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050035, China; 3. Hanshan District Agricultural and Rural Bureau of Handan City, Handan 056001, China; 4. Institute of Millet Crops, Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Cereal Crops Research Laboratory of Hebei Province, National Foxtail Millet Improvement Center, Shijiazhuang 050035, China

Abstract Quinoa is a crop as both food and forage. It has a tolerance to cold, drought, and salt. It is rich in vitamins, polyphenols, flavonoids, phytosterols and other substances, and has rich nutritional value and health care, which provides great potential for being as forage. In this paper, the application potential and prospects of quinoa as forage are studied.

Key words Planting environment, Nutritional value, Application of forage, Potential analysis

1 Introduction

As the population of China continues to increase, food safety issues have become the focus of people’s concern. In addition, global climate changes have also brought tremendous pressure to agricultural production. Northwest China is rich in resources and has vast land; its cold and arid climate and salinized soil conditions affect the development of agriculture in the western region. Therefore, the planting structure should be changed, and the development of animal husbandry should be emphasized. The development of animal husbandry can increase the utilization rate of resources, increase the demand for feed and forage, and improve the development level of agriculture and animal husbandry. Hence, highly adaptable crops not only promote the agricultural development in Northwest China, but also can be used as fodder.

2 Planting environment and growth distribution of quinoa

Quinoa (

Chenopodium

quinoa

Willd.) is native to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and other high-altitude mountains in the Andes of South America. In the above areas, it is mainly planted in high-altitude areas at an altitude of above 300 m. In China, quinoa is distributed in high-altitude areas at an altitude of 700-3 000 m, and is mainly concentrated below 2 000 m. The plant height of quinoa is about 1 m on average. At present, the growth cycle of quinoa varieties introduced in Gansu is about 120 d, and the growth cycle is usually directly related to the month of sowing and the climate of the region. The general planting time is from mid-April to early May, and it should be covered with mulch if seeding before mid-April.

When quinoa is planted, soil humidity should be 15%-20%, and temperature should be above 10 ℃. If soil is dry, quinoa seeds are more difficult to germinate. On the contrary, when soil is wet, quinoa seeds are prone to mold and rot. According to different soil environments and sowing habits, two better seeding methods seedling transplanting and strip seeding can be adopted. Organic fertilizer or compound fertilizer should be applied enough before sowing and soil preparation. As the color of the leaves of quinoa changes from green to yellow, most of the leaves fall off, and the seeds harden, it can be harvested. The harvest time is usually from August to September each year. It is harvested with a sickle to prevent the seeds from falling off, and it should not be harvested on a rainy day. The harvested quinoa should be dried in time to prevent the seeds from being moldy and rot.

3 Application potential of quinoa as forage

Quinoa seeds are rich in nutrients, including vitamins, proteins, carotenoids, minerals, and amino acids. It also contains lysine and histidine that are rare in general grains. The main protein of forage is from grains. Adding quinoa seeds to forage can effectively improve amino acid balance.

In addition to quinoa seeds, bran and straw can be produced during the processing of quinoa seeds. The protein content of quinoa bran is also very high, about 11%-15%. The high protein content of quinoa bran provides great potential for making fodder. The cellulose content of quinoa straw is relatively high. Compared with commonly used corn straw, quinoa straw has better taste and better digestibility when fed to animals. Therefore, quinoa stalks can completely replace corn stalks as fodder to change the daily food composition of ruminants, and can be used as high-quality feed for pigs, cattle, sheep, and poultry. In addition, the whole quinoa plant has a high biological yield and protein content during the flowering period. During the flowering period, the branches and leaves are dense, and the stems and leaves are fresh and delicious. The part that falls on the ground can be used as feed directly.

With the growth and development of quinoa, the dry matter accumulation of the plants gradually increases. The protein content also rises, and the maximum is up to 15%. The protein content and yield in different growth periods are different. At different stages of the growth process, the dry matter accumulation and nutritional value of quinoa change. Quinoa is suitable for feeding during the filling period, and it can also be used as green feed to feed livestock.

4 Factors hindering the application of quinoa as forage and changing measures

Saponin is an anti-nutrient substance in quinoa. According to saponin content, quinoa can be divided into two types: one is sweet quinoa, and the other is bitter quinoa. The content of saponin in sweet quinoa is 0.2-0.4 mg/g, and the content of saponin in bitter quinoa is 4.7-11.3 mg/g. The bitter taste of saponin in quinoa can affect its taste when mammals are foraging, but saponin can help ruminants to digest and absorb. When quinoa is used as fodder to feed livestock, saponin should be removed in advance, or its content should be minimized. The proportion of quinoa or its processed products should not exceed 30% of other food when feeding mammals to avoid the impact of saponin on animal foraging. Therefore, sweet quinoa varieties with low saponin content should be selected as high-quality quinoa varieties.

Fiber can ensure the health of animals and maintain animal production performance. The high content of fiber in animals’ daily food is easy to cause animal production function to decrease. On the contrary, when fiber content in animals’ daily food is low, rumen fermentation becomes faster, which will cause the accumulation of lactic acid, acidosis, and then a disease in animal body functions. Studies have shown that neutral detergent fiber is an important factor in animal foraging, and its fermentation and circulation are relatively slow, which is also the reason for the decrease in animal foraging. In roughage, acid detergent fiber is related to forage digestion. If the content of acid detergent fiber is higher, the quality of feed will be reduced. However, the lignin content of quinoa changed according to growth and development. The lignin content of quinoa straw is lower than that of corn stalks. The nutritional value of quinoa as fodder is higher than that of corn stalks. When quinoa is chosen as forage, the content of neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and lignin should be considered to ensure high-quality nutritional value of quinoa as forage.

5 Application prospects of quinoa as forage

The time for introducing quinoa in China is relatively short, and the current research is in its infancy. Because quinoa is planted in high-altitude areas when it is planted in the original places, the cultivation of quinoa in low-altitude areas will have certain difficulties. If the cultivation area of quinoa in China is expanded, it is necessary to cultivate varieties suitable for growth at low altitudes. Quinoa is a naturally-breeding crop, and there was no genetic improvement in the previous sowing process, which made its genetic shape unstable. Therefore, the exploration of the genetic diversity of quinoa species has important significance for quinoa genetic breeding and seeding. The introduction of quinoa in China has been relatively short, and its nutritional value and its application as fodder have not been recognized by more people, so it is necessary to increase the promotion of quinoa as fodder.

At present, people’s use of quinoa is still focused on daily food. There are relatively few practices targeting quinoa as fodder to feed livestock and poultry. Studies have shown that quinoa is forage with great potential. Its seeds, bran, and straw as forage forage have a huge feeding capacity. Quinoa seeds can create good economic benefits as people’s daily food. If they are used as fodder to feed livestock, there is no advantage in economic benefits. But the by-product bran and straw that are produced from quinoa can bring good development prospects. Other crops generally have low yields in cold, arid, and high-altitude areas, but quinoa is particularly adaptable to the environment. It can also ensure its yield in areas with poor climatic conditions and can be used as fodder to feed livestock. Hence, quinoa can be eaten by people, and has great potential as fodder.

Quinoa still has strong vitality in harsh environments and can adapt to drought, cold, salt and other environments. Quinoa seeds have high nutritional value, so quinoa is eaten as a highly nutritious food by people, so quinoa is also recognized and cultivated by many countries. It is also cultivated in Northwest China. Quinoa seeds and processed by-products also have great potential as fodder. China should strengthen the scientific research team and investment in this field. The cultivation and planting of quinoa should also be paid attention to to solve the problem of its characteristics and low yield. It is necessary to pay attention to the research on the feeding methods of quinoa and the processing technology of forage grass, thereby promoting quinoa to play its full potential in forage, which is also helpful to meet China’s demand for high-protein forage.