''Chenopodium pallidicaule'', known as ''cañihua'', ''canihua'' or ''cañahua'' (from

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

''qañiwa, qañawa or qañawi'') and also kaniwa, is a species of

goosefoot ''Chenopodium'' is a genus of numerous species of perennial or annual herbaceous flowering plants known as the goosefoots, which occur almost anywhere in the world. It is placed in the family Amaranthaceae in the APG II system; older classific ...

, similar in character and uses to the closely related ''

quinoa Quinoa (''Chenopodium quinoa''; , from Quechua ' or ') is a flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are rich in protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins, a ...

'' ''(Chenopodium quinoa)''. Cañihua is native to the Andean region, with more than 200 varieties, and it has been farmed in the

Altiplano The Altiplano (Spanish for "high plain"), Collao (Quechua and Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extensive high plateau on Earth outside Tibet. The plateau is located at the ...

for millennia. As a crop, cañihua has distinct characteristics, including tolerance of high mountain conditions, high content of

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

and dietary fiber, and rich phenolic content.

Botanical description

Cañihua is a herbaceous and annual plant. This species is diploid with a chromosome number of 2n = 18. There are two types of this species, which differ in their branching. The ''lasta'' type shows high branching, whereas the ''saguia'' type is characterized by few branching and its more erected growth.Hemandez, Esteban J. (1994). ''Neglected crops:1492 from a different perspective''. Rome: FAO. . The plant grows to 20–60 cm high and is therefore shorter than its close relative

. Cañihua also vary from quinoa in its

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

and its flower traits. The inflorescences are situated on the terminal and axillar cimas. The flowers are small and without petals. There are three different types of flower. Hermaphrodite consists of both the stamen and the

pistils Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) '' pistils' ...

. Another flower type are the pistillate flowers, which have pistils, but no stamens. The third type of flower are male sterile flowers. The fruits are small and dark, which contain brown or black

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

with a diameter of 0.5 to 1.5 mm. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

s are

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

, which means that the seeds are lost spontaneously and are then dispersed. Once maturation is reached, the plant stem and leaves change in colour to yellow, red, green or purple.

Uses

Cañihua can easily be milled to flour and can be prepared further as a toasted cañihua flour called ''cañihuaco''. Cañihuaco has a nutty taste and can be mixed with water and milk for a breakfast meal. Since it is rich in calories and proteins, local people take it on long travels. Additionally, cañihua flour can be used for a lot of other purposes such as bread-making, pastry-making and noodle-making. Some varieties of cañihua can even be included in sweets, snacks and weaning food mixtures. The cooking and extrusion technology tests have already shown successful results in several countries. This technology present numerous advantages such as low cost, simple operation, moderate production volume, minimum auxiliary equipment, versatility, good sanitary conditions and easy management. Results from a study demonstrated that the initial moisture content of 12% was optimal to obtain an extrudate with good physicochemical characteristics (e.g. degree of gelatinization, sectional expansion index, water absorption index, water solubility index and density). Additionally, roasting does not significantly affect the dialyzability of nutritionally valuable minerals in qañiwa. Boiling, however, was found to increase zinc, iron and calcium dialyzability.

Importance for food security

Cañihua is an important crop for

food security Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World ...

in the Andean region where there are nutritional problems. The most affected group are rural families having limited access to commodities due to poverty and droughts. Cañihua is both easily accessible and drought-resistant, offering potential food and income for highland farmers. In order to alleviate problems of food security, new food-processing technologies and products are being developed to encourage companies to process native Andean crops and to increase their consumption as well as open market opportunities using cañihua.

Nutritional value

The indigenous Andean food crops, ''quinoa'' (''

Chenopodium quinoa Quinoa (''Chenopodium quinoa''; , from Quechua ' or ') is a flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are rich in protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins, and ...

''), ''kiwicha'' (''

Amaranthus caudatus ''Amaranthus caudatus'' (also known as ''Amaranthus edulis'' and ''Amaranthus mantegazzianus'') is a species of annual flowering plant. It goes by common names such as love-lies-bleeding, pendant amaranth, tassel flower, velvet flower, foxtail a ...

'') and ''cañihua'' have high nutritional value based mainly on their considerable protein content and dietary fiber value. Their protein, calcium, zinc and iron content is higher than that of more widely commercialized cereals. The protein content (15.3%) of cañihua grain is higher than that of quinoa and kiwicha, and similar to

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

(12.6%) and

oats The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human co ...

(16.9%). The

lipids Lipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include ...

consist mainly of

unsaturated fatty acids In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple est ...

. Unlike quinoa, cañihua contains a lower amount of the bitter tasting saponins which affect taste and texture.

Cultivation

Cañihua is a half-domesticated plant from the highlands of Bolivia and Peru,Tapia ME & Fries AM (2007). Guía de campo de los cultivos Andinos, Origen de las plantas cultivadas en los Andes, Chapt. I. Eds.: FAO & ANPE-PERU, Rome & Lima. . http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/ai185s/ai185s01.pdf. cultivated as a pseudocereal crop for its seeds. Both seeds and leaves are edible.Plants For A Future (2007). Chenopodium pallidicaule. http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Chenopodium+pallidicaule. The plant was often cultivated in South America in the past. More than 200 varieties are known in Bolivia, but only twenty are still in use, with a majority of farmers cultivating just one.Bioversity International (2013). Creating markets for orphan crops, Bioversity International supports marketing link in food value chain. CGIAR.

Environmental requirements

Cañihua is well-adapted to the Andean climate and therefore cold-resistant in all growth stages. Adult plants are also resistant to night frosts. In vegetative stage, the plant may survive until –10 °C, flowers until –3 °C FAO (2007). Ecocrop – Chenopodium pallidicaule, Data sheet. http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/cropView?id=4494 . and is growing until temperatures up to 28 °C at sufficient humidity.Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species (n.d.). CAÑIHUA (Chenopodium pallidicaule), Enabling deployment of underutilized species. CGIAR. http://www.underutilized-species.org/species/brochures/Canihua.pdf Cañihua can be grown from 1500 m up to 4400 m, but is rarely cultivated below 3800 m. The plant has resistance to strong winds, heavy rainfalls, most pests and diseases, and even prolonged drought periods. Rainfall from 500 to 800 mm during the growing season makes irrigation unnecessary. The plant does not grow well in shade, maritime exposure or excess humidity. Cañihua can be grown on any kind of moderately fertile soil, including shallow, acid, alkaline or saline soils.

Plant development

As an annual crop, cañihua reaches maturity in 95 to 150 days, depending on variety. Germinating starts at soil temperatures of 5 °C. Flowering happens from July to October at temperatures around 10 °C and ripening from August to October at 15 °C.

Harvesting and post-harvesting

Cañihua 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 threshed by hand or using a wheat thresher. 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 (weight in grams of 1,000 seeds) is only 480 mg, compared to 1900 mg - 4000 mg of

.Simmonds NW (1965). The Grain Chenopods of the Tropical American Highlands. Vol. 19 (Iss. 3). pp. 223 – 235, Economic Botany. Springer.

Potential and risks

Cañihua is often considered as a forgotten crop once widely used in the Andes, but now replaced by other crops such as millet. Today, cañihua has significance only at higher altitudes, where neither quinoa nor millet can grow. In analogy to the success of

and the increasing demand for it in western countries, cañihua has growing market potential. The crop was experimentally produced in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and showed good results. The risk of outcrossing is very small, as cañihua is self-pollinating. The risk of becoming invasive remains. The most important breeding aims are the reduction of seed scattering and increased seed size.Becker H (2011). Pflanzenzüchtung. pp. 10–11. Ulmer, Stuttgart. .

Reference list

External links

Andean Grains and Legumes

''Chenopodium pallidicaule''
on Plants for a Future database
Canihua (''Chenopodium pallidicaule'')
at

Crops for the Future Crops For the Future, known by its acronym CFF, is an independent International organization, international organisation with a mandate to promote and facilitate the greater use of Neglected and Underutilized Crops, neglected and underutilised cr ...

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2351541 pallidicaule Flora of western South America Flora of Peru Crops originating from South America Pseudocereals