Seed preparation
Sow the whole seed (the three-cornered hulled fruit) dry. Calculate seed by weight: buckwheat seed is large, so rates are much higher than for small-seeded crops.
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Grain growing guide
Buckwheat comes up in 3-5 days, flowers within a month and smothers weeds, but frost kills it and hot, dry weather at bloom empties the flowers. This guide covers sowing for grain or as a fast cover crop, including timing in the Indian hills.
Sow the whole seed (the three-cornered hulled fruit) dry. Calculate seed by weight: buckwheat seed is large, so rates are much higher than for small-seeded crops.
Not needed. Untreated seed emerges in 3-5 days in warm, moist soil.
Not needed. Buckwheat has no cold requirement and is killed by frost.
Not needed. Sow into moist soil; germination is already fast.
Seed germinates between about 7 and 41 °C (45-105 °F), best near 27 °C (80 °F). Timing is set by frost, not by germination: sow only when the danger of frost has passed, because seedlings and plants are very frost-sensitive.
Sources differ: North Dakota State University prefers 2.5-3.8 cm (1-1 1/2 in) and warns against going deeper than 5 cm (2 in); the SARE cover-crop handbook gives 1.3-3.8 cm (1/2-1 1/2 in); UC SAREP about 1.3 cm (1/2 in). Sow at the shallower end in moist, fine soil and deeper when the surface is drying.
Light to medium, well-drained soils. Buckwheat tolerates poor and acid soils and is very efficient at taking up phosphorus, but does poorly on heavy, wet soils or soils high in limestone.
Moist soil at sowing; buckwheat is not drought-tolerant, and its roots are concentrated in the top 25 cm (10 in).
Cover the seed with soil. Grow in full sun.
Seedlings appear in about 3-5 days in warm soil.
Not used. For grain, drill about 45-56 kg/ha (40-50 lb/acre) of pure live seed; as a cover crop, drill 56-67 kg/ha (50-60 lb/acre) in 15-20 cm (6-8 in) rows, or broadcast up to about 108 kg/ha (96 lb/acre) for a dense, weed-smothering stand.
Growth is very fast: flowering starts about 3-5 weeks after sowing and continues for several weeks. A cover crop produces most of its biomass in 6-8 weeks.
Little fertiliser is needed. Excess nitrogen makes plants tall and prone to lodging.
Buckwheat is a traditional crop of the Himalaya, the north-eastern hill states and the Nilgiri and Palani hills. ICAR trials in the mid-hills of Meghalaya recommend sowing from October to mid-December; April-May sowings there gave the lowest yields because of heavy rain. In frost-prone high valleys sow after the last spring frost.
Buckwheat fills a short gap between crops: it can be mown before 25% bloom to regrow, and its flowers support hoverflies, predatory wasps, minute pirate bugs and other beneficial insects.
Cut when flowering is nearly over and about a quarter of the seeds are still green, since the crop ripens unevenly and shatters. Maturity takes about 10-13 weeks in temperate regions, longer in the cool Indian hills (about 130-145 days in the Meghalaya trials).
Dry grain to 13% moisture for long-term storage; if drying with heat, keep it below 43 °C (110 °F).
Sow buckwheat after frost for fast grain, flowers for bees or a quick cover crop.
Seedlings appear in 3-5 days, flowering starts within about 3-5 weeks, and a cover crop is ready to cut in 6-8 weeks. Grain takes about 10-13 weeks in temperate climates and longer in cool hill areas.
No. It is very frost-sensitive at all stages, so sow only after the danger of frost has passed and harvest before autumn frost.
Hot, dry or windy weather during bloom causes flowers and seeds to abort, and the flowers need insect pollinators. Sow so flowering falls in cooler, moist weather.
