Quinoa
Chenopodium quinoa
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is a cool-season annual pseudocereal grown for its small, protein-rich seeds. A broadleaf relative of spinach, beet, and lambsquarters, it grows 3-7 feet tall on a branched central stem topped with dense seed panicles that ripen green, red, pink, or purple. Adapted to cool temperate and high-elevation regions across roughly Zones 4-8, quinoa is direct-seeded in mid- to late spring once soils warm to about 50°F and matures in 90-120 days. It is highly drought- and salinity-tolerant, producing on as little as 10-20 inches of moisture, but is sensitive to sustained heat above about 90-95°F during flowering, which causes pollen sterility and poor seed set. It performs across a wide pH range (6.0-8.5) on well-drained soils.
Crop Snowflake Score
Overview
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is a cool-season annual pseudocereal in the family Amaranthaceae, grown for its small, protein-rich seeds. It is a broadleaf dicot — a relative of spinach, beet, and lambsquarters — that grows on a branched, often woody central stem 3-7 feet tall, topped by dense seed panicles that ripen green, red, pink, or purple. Quinoa is direct-seeded shallowly (about 0.5-1 inch) in mid- to late spring once soils warm to roughly 50°F, at low seeding rates of about 5-15 lb per acre; seedlings tolerate light frost. The crop matures in about 90-120 days. Quinoa is highly tolerant of drought and of saline and alkaline soils, performing on as little as 10-15 inches of moisture, but it is sensitive to sustained heat: temperatures above about 90-95°F during flowering cause pollen sterility and poor seed set, which is the principal limit on where it can be grown. Good drainage is essential, as waterlogging causes stunting and damping-off. Most cultivated quinoa seed carries bitter saponins in the seed coat that must be removed by washing or abrasion before consumption. Key production challenges include weed control during slow early growth, lodging of tall plants, downy mildew, and pre-harvest sprouting if mature seed is rained on; timely harvest once seed heads have dried is critical.
Growing Season
- Plant
- Mid to late spring, after soil warms to about 50°F – Early summer
- Harvest
- Late summer – Fall, once seed heads have dried
- Frost-free days
- 90+
Yield
- Typical yield
- 1,200 lbs/acre
- Productive lifespan
- 1 years
- Years to full prod.
- 1
Market Fit
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Market Channels
Climate Fit
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Infrastructure Fit
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Equipment Requirements
general
Mid-size utility tractor for tillage, drilling, spraying, and harvest support. Often shared across small-grain enterprises.
Hand-held capacitance meter calibrated for small grains. Quinoa-specific calibration may not be on stock meter — cross-check with oven method for first harvest.
planting
Drill capable of metering small (~1 g/1000 seed) seed at 0.5-1.5 cm depth, with press wheels for seed-to-soil contact. Brillion or coulter drills with seedbox dividers work well.
cultivation
Critical for weed control given the very limited registered herbicide options on quinoa. Time first cultivation soon after emergence when weeds are at white-thread stage.
spraying
Used primarily for insecticide passes (lygus, aphids) and rare fungicide applications. Few herbicides are registered for quinoa in the U.S., limiting in-crop spray use.
irrigation
Quinoa is largely grown dryland in North America; supplemental irrigation only in semi-arid sites for establishment. Cost varies widely by system; many growers operate without irrigation.
harvesting
Combine harvester set with narrow concave clearance, slow cylinder/rotor speed (450-650 rpm), and reduced fan to avoid blowing tiny (~2 mm) seed out the back. Custom-hire option common at small acreage.
post_harvest
Removes chaff, broken seed, weed seed, and other foreign material. A Clipper M2B or similar 2-screen cleaner is standard at small-to-mid scale.
Saponin coating must be abraded off before human consumption. Dry-polish or wet-wash systems available. Many small growers contract-mill this step rather than purchase equipment.
Reduce grain moisture to 10% or lower for safe storage. Quinoa is susceptible to mold in storage above 12%. Aerated bins suffice in dry climates; forced-air drying needed in humid harvest windows.
Standard grain storage bin sized to harvest volume. Critical to keep rodents and birds out — quinoa is very attractive to both. Aeration fan strongly recommended.
Storage Requirements
Ambient dry storage (grain)
Temperature
50–77°F
Humidity
?–60%
Max Storage
365 days
Cold storage (long-term seed)
Temperature
32–40°F
Humidity
40–60%
Max Storage
730 days
Grain bin (on-farm)
Temperature
50–70°F
Humidity
?–60%
Max Storage
270 days
Finance Fit
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Risk Fit
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Known Risks
disease
Oomycete causing yellow leaf lesions with violet-grey sporulation on undersides; severe infection defoliates plants and reduces seed yield. Seedborne and favored by humid, cool conditions. Reported in U.S. quinoa plots beginning 2011.
Soilborne Pythium, Rhizoctonia, and Fusarium species cause poor emergence, post-emergence damping-off, and uneven stands, particularly in cold wet seedbeds.
Minor in most quinoa production but can appear under prolonged leaf wetness, producing brown angular leaf spots and occasional stem cankers.
pest
Black bean aphid and Chenopodium aphid colonize stems and leaf undersides, causing chlorosis, honeydew/sooty mold, and stunting in heavy infestations.
Tarnished plant bug and other Lygus species feed on developing seeds, causing seed abortion, shriveled seed, and reduced grain quality. Damage is often invisible at the panicle but quantifiable at the cleaner.
Liriomyza leafminer larvae and lepidopteran larvae (beet armyworm, loopers) chew foliage; significant defoliation reduces photosynthetic area and seed fill.
Sparrows, finches, blackbirds, and doves readily strip quinoa panicles at the milk-dough through hard-dough stages. Losses of 10-50% reported in unprotected fields, especially small plots.
weather
Quinoa is cool-season; daytime temperatures above 32°C (90°F) during flowering cause pollen sterility, seed abortion, and substantial yield loss. Many varieties bred for the Andes fail in continental summer heat.
Emerging quinoa tolerates light frost down to about -2°C (28°F) but extended hard frosts kill seedlings. Cold soil also slows emergence and increases damping-off risk.
environmental
Tall quinoa varieties (1.5-2.5 m at maturity) can lodge in heavy rain or wind events, particularly on rich N-amended soils, complicating combine harvest and increasing field losses.
market
U.S. quinoa demand is supplied largely by Peruvian and Bolivian imports; domestic millers and processors are few. Price/contract terms can be uncertain for new growers and may not cover specialty harvest/cleaning costs.
Nutritional Yield
Nutrition data pending.
Research agents will profile Quinoa against USDA FoodData Central on the next maintenance pass. Per-acre nutritional yield will appear here once the per-100g panel is recorded.
Ecosystem Services
Ecosystem service data pending.
The next research-agent rotation will document this crop's contributions to pollinator support, soil health, water quality, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration.
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Data Sources
Every data point on this page is traceable to its source. Below you'll find the complete provenance trail — which sources were used, when data was last verified, and a full change history.
Primary sources: USDA PLANTS (CHQU) for taxonomy; Oregon State University Extension Quinoa Production guide (EM 9300) for agronomy, yield, and management. GDD not yet assigned. Image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) and verified. Added by automated maintenance task run daily-2026-05-23.
12 tracked changes across 5 data categories