4.2 Growth indicators of quinoa at different planting densities
High salinity in the soil reduces plant growth and productivity (Pan et
al., 2011). In the study presented here, negative correlation between
the rhizosphere soil salinity and fresh panicle weight per plant (Fig.
2) suggested that the salt content of the rhizosphere soil contributed
to decreased growth and yield of quinoa. As the planting density
increased, the ventilation and light penetration through the canopy were
limited, and stem diameter, total biomass, and fresh panicle weight per
plant decreased with increasing density. In high-density planting, poor
sunlight in the canopy induced plants to grow taller and thinner (Table
1).