possibilities both in local and international markets. Although some
crop management (notably that related to crop establishment),
and harvest and post-harvest technology determine certain constraints,
quinoa could become an interesting alternative to winter
cereals (Bertero, 2001a) or be included in a double crop sequence
when an early harvest is required to sow a second crop, as it
usually occurs in the Pampas region of Argentina (Calvino et al., ˜
2003).
Sensitivity to photoperiod as well as response to temperature
during the growing period largely determine quinoa adaptation to
new environments. Both attributes were described for various sets
of cultivars of different origin and were useful to select promising
cultivars for a certain environment and management combination
(Bertero et al., 1999). However, actual crop biomass production
must be quantified in order to draw accurate conclusions about
those cultivars agronomic adaptation. In sea level quinoa cultivars,
the period of active inflorescence growth before seed filling
appears to be the most sensitive to environmental conditions in
terms of seed number determination (Bertero and Ruiz, 2008). So,
it is desirable to reach the maximum crop growth rate before and
to sustain it during the flowering phase to maximize this yield
component