User:Wengsand/sandbox

Harvesting and Post-Harvesting
Qañiwa has to be harvested at colour change, before full maturation, to prevent high yield losses due to seed scattering. The crop has to be cut, dried and treshed. Treshing can occur by hand or using a wheat tresher. Papery husks enclose the seeds and have to be washed and rubbed away. Average seed yield is 400 - 900 kg/ha in traditional cropping systems. In intensive systems, yields of 2-3 t can be obtained. 1000–kernel weight is only 480 mg, compared to 1900 mg - 4000 mg of quinoa.

Potential and Risks
Qañiwa is a forgotten crop. Once widely used in the Andes, qañiwa has been replaced by other crops as millet. Today it has only significance at higher altitudes, where neither quinoa nor millet can grow. In analogy to the success of quinoa and the increasing demand for it in western countries, qañiwa has a growing market potential. It can be well grown in cool climate or mountainous regions. The crop was experimentally produced in Finland and showed good results. The risk of outcrossing is very small, as qañiwa is self-pollinating. The risk of becoming invasive remains, since the broad establishment of other chenopodium species is recorded. The selection of convenient varieties is required, if cultivation shall be expanded. The most important breeding aims are the reduction of seed scattering and increased seed size.