Stability of quantitative traits in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa).

The stability of various descriptive characters was studied over a 5-year period in 14 lines of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) to determine the most appropriate time in a breeding programme when selection for these characters could be performed, and which lines could serve as potential parents. Various measures of stability were employed to analyse these data, including those proposed by Francis and Kannenberg (1978) and Lin and Binns (1988), appropriately modified for the purpose of this investigation. From these results it was concluded that selection for height, inflorescence size and developmental stage could be satisfactorily performed at an early stage of the breeding programme. For saponin content, however, the measuring techniques available were too insensitive to enable a recommendation to be made. Potential parents were identified in this material for use in the development of varieties suitable for North European conditions.