Posted: Thursday, September 09, 2010 9:00 AM
Courtesy Kevin Murphy
University of Idaho senior Blair Van Pelt works with quinoa as part of a Washington State University class. Washington State University researcher Kevin Murphy is examining quinoa and buckwheat as possible alternate crops for farmers in the Pacific Northwest.
Researcher eyes quinoa, buckwheat
Alternative crops offer growers diversity, new sales opportunities
Capital Press
Many grain growers probably haven't heard of quinoa, but a researcher believes it might be just the thing to diversify their crop rotations.
Kevin Murphy of Washington State University is testing quinoa, a grain related to lamb's quarters and spinach, and buckwheat for potential use in the organic grain market and elsewhere.
At the request of farmers looking to diversify their grain rotations, Murphy is conducting trials across the state using 44 varieties of quinoa and 30 varieties of buckwheat. He is looking to see which grow best and are resistant to pests and diseases.
Quinoa -- pronounced "keen wah" -- is popular in the Seattle market, Murphy said. Most is imported from its native region near the equator, including Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru.
Quinoa has many amino acids in the seeds and the greens can be eaten, but Murphy is focusing on the grain, which is gluten-free.
The crop is usually not grown at latitudes above the 42nd parallel, and Murphy's trial sites are at the 46th parallel.
Murphy is also looking for buckwheat varieties that mature in the coolest climates in Washington to meet the needs of farmers who have dry but cool summers.
Sequim, Wash., organic farmer Nash Huber is primarily interested in buckwheat as a cover and rotation crop for the cooler summers.
"We need a really short-season buckwheat, and so we're interested in evaluating these different varieties Kevin has given us," Huber said.
Buckwheat is important as a gluten-free grain for feed and human consumption, and has the ability to accumulate phosphorus in the soil, he said.
Quinoa is a longer-season crop with frost tolerance, while buckwheat is a short-season crop with no frost tolerance, Murphy said.
Both crops mature in a shorter period than spring wheat and cannot be overwintered.
Most of the farmers in the trial grow 20 to 100 acres of grain per year in Western Washington. Murphy believes the crops also have a place in conventional farming, primarily diversified small- to medium-scale growers.
The first year of variety trials were planted in the spring and will be harvested soon. The trials will continue for one more year.
Beyond identifying the varieties best adapted to the region, Murphy would start a small breeding program for both crops, depending on funding.
Murphy received about $27,000 from WSU's BioAg project.