Die Bodenkultur - Journal for Land Management, Food and Environment

W. Aufhammer and E. Kühler:

Investigations of the agronomical value of the cereals milet (Panicum miliaceum), canary grass (Phalaris canariensis) and the pseudocereals buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) and amaranth (Amarantbus spp.)

Summary

A two-years field experiment was conducted to investigate the agronomica1 value of the cereals milet and canary grass and of the pseudocereals buckwheat, quinoa and amaranth under marginal growth conditions. Available vegetation periods, yields of shoot dry matter and of produced and harvested grain dry matter, losses before and during threshing included, were measured. High germination temperatures, frost sensitivity and wet maturation periods limited the available vegetation periods to 120-130 days. Buckwheat and canary grass stands, as well as early ripening varieties of milet, quinoa and amaranth reached threshability in time. Milet, quinoa and amaranth stands ·produced 100-110 dt/ha shoot dry matter, buckwheat stands reached 90 dt/ha, canary grass stands reached only 60 dt/ha. The harvest indices of milet and quinoa were 40-45 and exceeded the indices of the other species by far. The grain yields of millet and quinoa stands leveled up to 60dt/ha, followed by buckwheat and amaranth stands with about 30 dt/ha and by canary grass stands with only 12 dt/ha. On account of losses, levels of threshed grain yields remained 10-35 % below. Key words: milet, canary grass, pseudocereals.