ABSTRACT
By 2050, there will be an additional 1.5 billion mouths to feed because of the growing global population, exacerbated by the steadily declining area of arable land. Because of this, it is essential that more food come from fringe regions, which are predicted to be unfit for growing staple crops under the unfavourable scenario of climate change. To increase food, feed, and nutritional security in restricted situations, crop diversification offers the best possibilities. The most suitable crops to generate seed and biomass in such a situation will be those that are climate-resilient and well-adapted. The minor millets are noted for having a good nutritional balance and greater tolerance to a variety of abiotic stresses, making them the ideal crops for arid and salt-affected soils and irrigation water of low quality. Pseudocereals are a subcategory of grains that are regarded as rich foods due to their high mineral content, high protein content, and overall high nutritional value. This group includes amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa. However, although they have similar micronutrient bioavailability, minor millets and pseudo-cereals differ morphologically and have gluten-free grains. Dry regions can become fertile and provide for prospective food and nutritional security by growing these millets. Though some of these crop plant species have exceptionally strong natural nutritional profiles, minimal development has been made in molecular genetics and breeding attempts to increase the bioavailability of nutrients. The genomes of millets and pseudocereals have now been sequenced, thanks to recent developments in next-generation sequencing (NGS), which will speed up the creation of molecular markers and their use in genetic breeding. This chapter discusses the various quality management systems for pseudocereals. It also covers topics on better ways of cultivating pseudocereals.
