Early Sowing of Quinoa to Enhance Water Use Efficiency and Yield under Arid Conditions in Morocco

Quinoa is a potential alternative crop for an adaptation strategy for salinization and climate change effects in dryland. A sowing date of February practiced in the Rehamna region, Morocco, resulted in stunted plants and low yields due to insufficient precipitations and high temperatures around the...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nawal Taaime, Khalil El Mejahed, Mariam Moussafir, Rachid Bouabid, Abdallah Oukarroum, Redouane Choukr-Allah, Mohamed El Gharous
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-06-01
Series:Environmental Sciences Proceedings
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4931/16/1/66
Description
Summary:Quinoa is a potential alternative crop for an adaptation strategy for salinization and climate change effects in dryland. A sowing date of February practiced in the Rehamna region, Morocco, resulted in stunted plants and low yields due to insufficient precipitations and high temperatures around the flowering stage. For this reason, a field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of sowing date on quinoa water use efficiency, growth, and yield. The experiment was conducted at the UM6P experimental farm to evaluate five sowing dates for two short cycle quinoa cultivars. The results showed that the most early suitable sowing date of quinoa in the Rehamna region was December. Late sowing dates resulted in a significant decrease in WUE, growth and yield. The highest grain yield (0.84 t ha<sup>−1</sup>) was obtained by ICBA-Q5 sown in December.
ISSN:2673-4931