investigations on the insects associated with quinoa (CHENOPODIUM QUINOA) in northern italy

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a chenopodiaceous plant native to South America, cultivated for centuries mainly in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador countries which together account for more than 80% of world production. This herbaceous plant has wide potential for use: in the human diet (both in grain form and as flour and derivatives), as animal feed, and also in non-food and industrial applications, although the main interest is the former, due to its nutritional qualities and because it is gluten free, not being a cereal. In recent years, cultivation has been undertaken in several European countries,including Italy, where quinoa is grown both in experimental plots and in open fields. The study of the insects found on this crop has been carried out above all in South America but also in the United States and, more recently, in some European countries, where experimental cultivation began several years ago. In Italy, where the spontaneous and closely related Chenopodium album L. is present, it is particularly interesting to investigate which insects adapt to feed on the new crop. It is very likely that quinoa attracts indigenous-weed insect pests. As part of the experimental agronomic tests carried out recently to verify the adaptability of quinoa to the territory of Piacenza and Pavia (northern Italy), surveys have been carried out on the insect pests of this plant. In 2016, three test fields of quinoa and one second-level variety comparison field were sampled, while in 2017 the sampling was carried out in four second-level variety comparison fields. The results obtained show that the crop is attacked in the early vegetative phases by aphids (Rhynchota Aphidoidea) and flea beetles (Coleoptera Chrysomelidae), while in the flowering phase until ripening the most harmful insects are bugs (Rhynchota Pentatomidae, Coreidae, Miridae). Attacks by flea beetles, if combined with particularly dry periods, can seriously compromise the crop.