Red Quinoa
A red/pink-hulled grain-colour type sold at a premium for its appearance and slightly nuttier cooked flavour, sourced the same way as white quinoa, through private and imported lines.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Quinoa
- Type
- Grain-colour type (no bred/released variety)
- Season
- Rabi
- Maturity period
- 120–150 days
- Seed rate
- Same as the crop generally — about 8–10 kg/ha for line sowing
- Expected yield
- Variable by seed source; not tied to a single documented figure
- Suitable soil
- Saline / marginal
- Release
- Not a bred or released variety — a grain-colour trade class sourced from imported and privately traded seed lines
About this variety
Red quinoa carries a red-to-pink seed coat and, once cooked, a slightly nuttier flavour and firmer texture than white quinoa, traits that let it command a premium price in the speciality and health-food market. Like white quinoa, it is not a named bred variety in India — it is a grain-colour trade class sourced from imported or privately traded seed lines, moving through the same private exporter and contract-farming channels as the rest of the crop rather than an open commercial seed market. Agronomically it is grown the same way as white quinoa; the difference is entirely in the seed's colour and the price it fetches, not in how the plant is managed in the field.
Key characteristics
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeNovember–December, the crop's general rabi window
- Seed rateSame as the crop generally — about 8–10 kg/ha for line sowing
- Spacing30 cm rows, thinned to about 20 cm within the row
Yield & maturity
Maturity period
120–150 days
Expected yield
Variable by seed source; not tied to a single documented figure
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
Pest & disease considerations
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Commands a premium price over white quinoa in the speciality and health-food market, for its appearance and cooked texture.
- Same low-input, drought- and salinity-tolerant growing requirements as white and black quinoa — no extra cultivation difficulty for the higher price.
Things to consider
- A smaller, more speciality market than white quinoa, so a grower should confirm buyer demand and price before committing significant land to it.
- With no ICAR release behind it, seed quality and germination depend entirely on the private supplier or contract-farming partner.
Suitable regions
Quinoa is still a new crop in India with no fixed growing belt for any grain-colour type — these are states it is reported grown in, not an exhaustive or officially recommended list.
- Rajasthan
- Himachal Pradesh
Sourced from: Quinoa Seeds in India: Cultivation in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh & Uttarakhand. editorial policy.