Enhancing Drought Tolerance of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) Through Potassium and Boron Application

Aims: Pakistan is facing a severe water shortage and the situation is further aggravated due to elevated temperature, leading to drastic yield reduction of quinoa. Hence, there is a dire need to maintain or increase agricultural production by utilizing sustainable methods of production to tackle changing climate. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is a crop, recognized by United Nations due to its nutritional and health benefits.

Methodology: Therefore, a field study was carried out to evaluate the drought tolerance of quinoa through soil application of potassium (K) and boron (B) under Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD) with a split-split plot arrangement and three replications. The crop was sown on November 06, 2021, using a seed rate of 8 kg ha-1 on 75 cm apart ridges with hand dibbling maintaining plant to plant distance of 120 cm. The experiment contained the following treatments; soil application of K at 0, 50, and 75 kg K2O ha-1 and B (H3BO3) at 0, 6 kg ha-1 in well-watered and drought-induced experimental units.

Results: Data related to crop physiological response and yield attributes were recorded using standard procedures and protocols. Quinoa performance decreased under drought stress but it was improved by potassium (K) supplementation at 75 kg K2O ha-1. Supplementation of K improved the seed yield of quinoa in drought-stressed conditions up to 41% and was also found economically viable because the value of benefit cost ratio was 2.2 in drought conditions as compared to the respective control (1.65).

Conclusion: Drought is an environmental factor that negatively interferes with crop growth and yield. So application of potassium and boron can enhance drought tolerance of quinoa through soil application.