Table 2.
Fundamentals and important attributes of potential underutilized grains.
| Cereal | Pseudo-cereal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teff | Proso Millet | Quinoa | Amaranth | |
| Centre of diversity | Eastern Africa | China | Latin America | South America |
| Family | Poaceae | Poaceae | Amaranthaceae | Amaranthaceae |
| Cultivated species | Eragrostis tef | Panicum miliaceum | Chenopodium quinoa | Amaranthus caudatus; A. cruentus; A. hypochondriacus |
| Genome size | ca. 730 Mbp | ca. 1020 Mbp | ca. 1450 Mbp | ca. 500 Mbp |
| Chromosome number | 2n = 4x = 40 | 2n = 4x =36 | 2n = 4x =36 | 2n = 2x = 32 or 2n = 2x =3 4 |
| Photosynthetic pathway | C4 | C4 | C3 | C4 |
| Salinity tolerance | Broad intraspecific variation | Tolerant | Tolerant | Tolerant |
| Cold tolerance | Tolerant | Sensitive | Tolerant | Sensitive |
| Drought tolerance | Moderately tolerant | Tolerant | Tolerant | Tolerant |
| Heat tolerance | Tolerant | Tolerant | Tolerant | Tolerant |
| Waterlogging tolerance | Tolerant | Sensitive | Sensitive | Sensitive |