Diseases of quinoa

Authors: Testen, Anna

Submitted to: Handbook of Vegetable and Herb Diseases
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/18/2024
Publication Date: 1/17/2025
Citation: Testen, A.L. 2025. Diseases of quinoa. In: Elmer, W.H., McGrath, M., McGovern, R.J. (eds) Handbook of vegetable and herb diseases. Handbook of plant disease management. Springer, Cham. Pgs 1-27 (stand alone chapters). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35512-8_55-1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35512-8_55-1

Interpretive Summary: Quinoa is an emerging crop on the global market and is native to South America. Quinoa is now grown across the world because it can tolerate harsh environmental conditions and still yields a highly nutritious seed. However, quinoa production is limited by diseases. In this chapter, key diseases of quinoa are described, along with methods to identify and manage these diseases. This information will help growers to address plant disease issues in their quinoa production.

Technical Abstract: Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is an emerging crop of global importance and was domesticated thousands of years ago in the Andean Region of South America. The most yield-limiting and widely reported disease of quinoa is quinoa downy mildew, caused by Peronospora variabilis. Quinoa is also affected by various fungal leaf spots and stem rots including Ascochyta leaf spot and stem rot, Cercospora (Passalora) leaf spot, and Phoma stem rot. Bacterial, viral, and nematode diseases of quinoa are poorly characterized but may become more important as quinoa production spreads to new regions with different disease pressures. Management of quinoa diseases requires an integrated approach including host resistance, synthetic pesticides, biological control, cultural approaches, and seed treatments.