Stimulatory Effect of Hormones, Vitamin C on Growth, Yield and Some Metabolic Activities of Chenopodium quinoa Plants in Egypt

Increasing yield for an ever growing world population has currently become a topic of great concern with regard to food security. Especially in Africa, agricultural productivity has not been able to cope with population growth, leading to increased annual imports and food insecurity.

The year 2013 was declared The International Year of the Quinoa (IYQ2013) by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in recognition of the indigenous peoples of the Andes who have maintained, controlled, protected and preserved quinoa as human food for present and future generations using their traditional knowledge and practices of living in harmony with the earth and nature. Because it is already part of existing high-value agro biodiversity, quinoa is poised to play an important role in strategies designed to adequately feed the growing world population in a sustainable manner .

In comparison to most cereals, quinoa seeds have a higher nutritional value.Quinoa is a good source of essential amino acids such as lysine and methionine. Quinoa contains relatively high quantities of vitamins (thiamine, vitamin C) and minerals.

Quinoa is a highly nutritious food crop, with an outstanding protein quality and a high content of a range of vitamins and essential minerals. Quinoa has enormous potential in the food industry being gluten-free and highly nutritious. This is of great importance for the nutritional value of cereals, because a high content of dietary fibre has positive effects on the reduction of the cancer risk. In general, quinoa contained higher total mineral contents than the other cereals such as rye and wheat.