Salinity is considered as main major problem in agriculture, particularly because saline soils are found primarily in arid regions where draught, extreme temperatures, and nutrient deficiency go hand in hand, and where scarce precipitation and high evaporation hinder a leaching out of the salts that accumulate in the upper soil layers. It is estimated that between 340 and as much as 950 billion squares kilometers, equivalent to about 20% of the arid and semiarid soils of the world, or 6% of the world land area, are saline. There is an increase in salinization due to irrigation, which is estimated to affect 50% of irrigated land 1,2. There are only few crops can be grown under marginal and extreme saline, dry and cold areas; quinoa is one of them 3.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a member of the Goosefoot Family (Chenopodiaceae), which includes such plants as sugar beets, Swiss chard (beta sp.), spinach (Spinaciaoleraceae) and Lamb’s quarters (Chenpodium album). The later has been a nuisance weed to farmers in many regions of the United States.

Quinoa derived from the Spanish spelling of the Quechua name kinwa or occasionally "Qin-wah", a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium). Quinoa is a dicotyledonous, annual plant usually ranges in height from 60-120 cm, depending on the eco-type. The root system is extensive; it consists of many branches from a central tap root which may extend 30 cm in a field environment. The woody central stem is either branched or unbranched depending on the variety and may be green, red or purple. Leaves normally arranged alternately, the upper leaves are lanceolate while the lower leaves are more rhomboidal. The upper and lower surfaces of the leaves are covered with small glands.

The panicles arise either from the top of the plant or from axils on the stem. The panicles have a central axis from which a secondary axis emerges either with flowers (amaranthiform), or bearing a tertiary axis carrying the flowers (glomeruliform). The green, hypogenous flowers have a simple perianth and are generally bisexual and self-fertilizing. The seeds are achenes about 2-3 mm in diameter and are found in a large array of pigments. From white to red, purple, and black, which are probably associated with “eco-type” and vary from region to region.

Quinoa originated in the Andean region of Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru, where it was successfully domesticated 3,000 to 4,000 years ago for human consumption, though archeological evidence shows a non-domesticated association with pastoral herding some 5,200 to 7,000 years ago.

Quinoa seeds are utilized to make flour for biscuits and cakes, added directly into soups, eaten as breakfast- type cereal, the fresh leaves and tender shoots of the plant are eaten raw in salads, or cooked and eaten as a vegetable. The young sprouts can also be added to salads or eaten plain 4.

It is seen to be as an alternative to cereals in human diet and animal feeds, cultivation and processing are thus necessary to exploit the potential of this crop on a wider geographic basis than hitherto 5.

Also, It has been selected by FAO as one of the crops destined to offer food security in this century. The genetic variability of quinoas huge, with cultivars being adapted to growth from sea level to 4000 masl, from 40 degrees S to 2 degrees N, and from cold, highland climates to tropical conditions. It was described as a likely candidate crop for NASA's Controlled Ecological Life port System 6.

In Europe, quinoa was suggested to be as a break crop between cereal crops and after potato crops. When grown in areas to which it is best adapted, it should be able to compete with cereals in both human diets and animal rations 7. So far, the results regarding quinoa as a drought resistant crop of high nutritive quality, which can be grown on poor, infertile soils, seem promising 8.

It was suggested to be an important new crop for Pakistan agriculture, providing highly nutritive and versatile food products for the population and a new raw material for the industry. In particular, it could be cultivated in many of the marginal environments afflicted by drought or salinity stress, which currently suffer from very low productivity 9.

Environmental extreme conditions of Southern America , Pakistan and Egypt deserts tend to participate similar features (both of them face draught and salinity problems side by side) , so that, quinoa could be suggested as an attractive alternative crop for the arid and semiarid regions, where water deficiency and salinity have been recognized as major agricultural problems 10. The principal aims of this study, i) Describe some selected Quinoa genotypes ii) Evaluate seedling germination and growth of the selected genotypes under invitro salinity and drought stress, iii) Evaluate growth, yield and its components and seeds chemical compositions for the selected genotypes under In vivo dominant stress, iv) Select the best genotypes under invitro stress and In vivo stress conditions of North Sinai region.