Quinoa is one of the oldest plant species belonging to the genus Chenopodium. It is an annual, broad-leaved herbaceous plant, 1-2 m tall with deep, penetrating roots and can be cultivated from sea level up to an altitude of 3800 m. Native to the Andean region, it soon spread due to growing commercial interest and its high level of resilience to a variety of common environmental stresses, including drought, frost, soil salinity, diseases and pests.

Actually, quinoa is not a real cereal, but a herbaceous plant. It is considered a pseudocereal as it does not belong to the Gramineae family like wheat and rice, but has the same food uses.
It is mainly cultivated for its edible seeds that are highly digestible and from which starchy flours with good to excellent protein content (13-18%) can be made gluten-free, but it can also be eaten as a leaf vegetable.

Quinoa is known as a functional food due to its high protein content and high amount of pharmacological components; it is also considered an effective anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-viral and anti-depressant.
Nutritionally, quinoa is a good source of fibre, which promotes good bowel function and keeps blood sugar levels stable. It also contains minerals such as magnesium, potassium, iron and zinc and B vitamins.

Unlike cereals such as wheat or barley, quinoa is naturally gluten-free, which is why it is considered an excellent alternative for those with coeliac disease or gluten sensitivity. It is also a source of complex carbohydrates and protein, which is useful to replace cereals containing gluten without compromising the intake of essential nutrients.
Thanks to its versatility, it can be easily integrated into numerous recipes, contributing to a varied and complete gluten-free diet.

Among the many existing varieties, in order to select the best performing variety in the field and with characteristics suitable for industrial processing, numerous studies and field trials have been conducted in different areas.
The quinoa variety most in demand on the international markets is Quinoa Real, but in Italy its cultivation encounters the limitation of the photoperiod. For this reason, two other varieties, Titikaka and Vikinga, have been cultivated in Italy.

Due to its high adaptability and wide genetic variability, quinoa is able to thrive in both arid and humid climate zones, in tropical areas and in cold as well as temperate zones; it can therefore be cultivated in different agro-climatic environments.
It has both brevidiurnal (suitable in tropical and subtropical areas), longidiurnal (suitable for cultivation in temperate or continental climate areas) and photoindifferent varieties. The average temperature suitable for the early stages of quinoa development is around 15-20 °C, with the optimum at 22 °C, however, it has been observed that at temperatures as high as 25 °C it develops perfectly, the same is true for average temperatures of 10 °C.

Quinoa is a nitrogen- and calcium-demanding plant, preferring loamy, well-drained soils rich in organic matter, with moderate slopes and an average nutrient content; it can also adapt to clay or sandy soils, provided the nutrients are present and there are no water stagnation problems; it can grow both in soils with a low salt content and in soils with high salt concentrations (having halophytic properties - ability to absorb water at very low potentials). It has the ability to grow and produce in soils with different pH, due to its wide genotypic variety.

The phenological phases of quinoa are well defined and differentiated, allowing the changes that occur during plant development to be identified, and are emergence (when the seedling emerges from the soil and extends the cotyledons) two true leaves, four true leaves, six true leaves, branching (one begins to notice the presence of inflorescences protected by the leaves without the exposure of the panicle), beginning of panicle formation complete panicle formation, beginning of flowering, milky ripening, waxy ripening (the seed is soft and when crushed a white paste is released) and finally physiological ripening (there is complete yellowing of the plant and the loss of all leaves).

Generally, the most commonly used irrigation method on arable crops is the drip system, which is easy to apply and manage. Quinoa is a plant characterised by a low water requirement, this is because it has a taproot, i.e. a main root that develops vertically in the soil and from which secondary roots originate, which allows it to absorb water deeply and independently. Irrigation can have a positive effect on good production yields, and is often necessary in summer, especially in the more delicate phases of the cycle. Generally, plants should not be irrigated until the two- or three-leaf stage, because too much water in the early stages after germination can lead to severe stunting of plant growth with considerable losses.

Le malattie che si sono osservate nelle coltivazioni di quinoa in Europa sono le stesse presenti in coltivazioni di spinacio e barbabietola da zucchero, e come tali possono essere gestite. Le più rilevanti sono: Peronospora farinosa (peronospora), Phoma exigua var. Foveata (peduncolo rosso), Botrytis cinerea (muffa grigia), e Pseudomonas sp. (batteriosi). Per tali parassiti di origine funginea potrebbero essere utilizzati prodotti a base di Rame e Zolfo come consentito da agricoltura biologica, tuttavia nessun prodotto è stato registrato per la coltura finora. Oltre a malattie parassitarie vi sono una vasta gamma di fitofagi che possono danneggiare le piante di quinoa, ad esempio afidi radicali come Aphis fabae (afide nero del fagiolo) e Nezara viridula (cimice verde) e altri cimicidi in fase di maturazione del seme.

Quinoa is usually in crop rotation with Andean lupine, a legume that ensures that the nitrogen removed by quinoa is fixed in the soil. Alternatively, it could be sown after potatoes or other tuber crops to make better use of the nutrients in the soil, crop residues and also for a lower incidence of diseases and pests. As a renovation crop, quinoa can precede depleting crops such as wheat, an aspect of considerable value as wheat monoculture is now widespread and this is critical from an agronomic point of view, as it reduces soil fertility and creates favourable conditions for the development of diseases and pests. An example of rotation: quinoa, wheat, legumes.