Comportamiento agronómico y calidad de kiwicha (Amaranthus caudatus L.) en función del cultivar y la dosis de fertilización

The kiwicha cultivation ( Amaranthus caudatus L.) in Peru is a food security crop for rural Andean populations; however, the low use of fertilizers significantly reduces the yields and profitability of native and improved cultivars. The aimed of the research was to determine the agronomic behavior and the quality the kiwicha grain in improved and native varieties at different fertilization rates. The evaluated treatments consisted of three kiwicha cultivars (Oscar Blanco, Centenario and Caracino) and three levels of NPK fertilization (18-46-30; 100-80-60; 120-100-80), established in complete block design at the random with 3 x 3 factorial arrangement and four replications. The agronomic variables analyzed were grain yield, plant height, flowering time, maturation stage, and as quality components, weight of 1000 grains and protein content. With the 120-100-80 dose of NPK, regardless of the cultivars, the highest yield was observed (2235.12 kg ha –1 ); while, with local cultivar Caracino the highest yield was verified (2208.33 kg ha –1 ); likewise, the highest protein content with 15.39% was found with the cultivar Oscar blanco. Under the soil conditions and agroclimatic conditions of the study area, the local Caracino cultivar with the fertilization dose 120-100-80 reached the highest yield with acceptable levels of grain quality.