Quinoa breeding can be faster and better using genomes and high-throughput phenotyping, a top researcher says.

Mark Tester is associate director of the Center for Desert Agriculture and professor of plant science at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia.

Tester delivered a keynote address on quinoa research Aug. 19 during the online International Quinoa Research Symposium, hosted by Washington State University.

Genomics — the study of an organism’s DNA — is “turbo-charging” genetics, Tester said. Genomics and phenotyping — measuring and analyzing observable plant characteristics — present “huge” opportunities to improve quinoa germplasm, Tester said.

The quinoa genome was mapped and published in 2017.

The food system is arguably the least sustainable sector on the planet, Tester said. It uses 50% of habitable land and 70% of all water humans use, and every aquifer is being depleted. He also said agriculture is responsible for 30% of all carbon dioxide emissions.

Quinoa has the potential to be a crop that can be grown on marginal land and to help address climate change, Tester said.

To do that, Tester said, quinoa germplasm must be cataloged. He called for the development of “core collections” that cover as much genetic diversity as possible, with all knowledge available to all researchers.

Research topics include mechanized planting and harvesting; larger grains; higher yield; higher quality; crop reliability; yield stability; herbicide and disease resistance; and heat tolerance.

Field trials at multiple sites are underway, including screening quinoa varieties for salt tolerance, Tester said.