Spinach production is constantly challenged by endemic diseases that significantly reduce producers’ income. Even when resistant cultivars and cultural practices are used, mild disease damage can happen, negatively affecting quality and therefore reducing its commercial value. In contrast, under those conditions, spinach could still produce seed for grain with valuable nutritional content that can fetch premium prices for the gluten-free niche markets. This project evaluated grain production as an additional source of income by assessing yield potential, nutritional quality, and economic feasibility and potential for improvement. A total of ~200 USDA-NPGS accessions were evaluated for GWAS. For all nineteen amino acids evaluated, a wide range in content was observed. E.g. aspartic acid population mean was 106.5 nmol/g with a minimum of 36.2 nmol/g and a maximum of 353.9 nmol/g. Similar results were observed for all eight minerals evaluated. E.g. K population mean was 9,998.1 mg/kg with a minimum of 3,227 mg/kg and a maximum of 24,770 mg/Kg. High diversity can be used to improve nutritional content in spinach seed. Several SNP markers associated with amino acid and mineral content were identified in more than one nutrient, indicating pleiotropic genetic control. Furthermore, protein digestibility tests indicate that spinach provides ~50% of all amino acids required in the diet as compared with Amaranth and Quinoa protein in grain that provided ~20% of all amino acid required. Therefore, indicating spinach grain has a higher nutritional content as compared with highly demanded Amaranth and Quinoa grains. Finally, a partial budgeting approach was used to assess the economic feasibility of producing spinach seeds for grain. The added costs totaled US$ 218.71/ac, including custom harvesting (US$ 24/ac), an additional application of fertilizers (US$ 17.36/ac) and fungicide (US$ 62.54/ac), extra irrigation costs (US$ 60.63), and US$ 54.18/ac in associated interest on production expenses. The break-even price of seeds was estimated to be equal to US$ 0.20/lb when the average experimental yield was considered (i.e., 1,089lbs/ac). Producing seed for grain could expand the farmer portfolio, increase farmed acreage, and fringe products.
