Buckwheat

Botanical name : Fagopyrun esculentum

Common name : Buckwheat

Images

Growing for seed

Buckwheat is a warm season crop. It is relatively quick and can produce mature seed in less than 3 months.

Each buckwheat plant produces one of two types of flowers – called pin & thrum types. The stamen and stigma lengths of each type ensures that they cannot pollinate themselves. Enough buckwheat plants must be grown together to ensure plants with both types of flowers occur in enough quantity for good cross pollination between the types.

Home growers in Australia are often growing a generic variety without specific traits, so isolation distances are not usually a concern.

Selection

Seed should be harvested from vigorous disease-free plants.

Traits that seed savers may select for include: leaf shape and size; flower colour; seed colour and size; and a tendency against shattering or lodging.

Harvest

Buckwheat seeds mature at the top of the plant first and then progressively down the plant in the same order that flowering occurs.

Small quantities can be harvested by hand when the triangular seeds turn brown.

Larger quantities can be harvested by cutting the whole stem when approximately 60% to 70% of the seeds have turned brown. The cut stems should be left to dry, preferably in a protected location on a screen or tarp.

It is not unusual for only a small percentage of flowers to mature through to seed. Many flowers are often aborted. The genetics for increased seed set has been linked with smaller seed size.

Processing

Gently thresh to remove seed from the stems. Gloves are recommended when rubbing off the seeds. Winnowing is effective in removing unwanted plant material from seeds.

Uses

Seed then needs to be hulled to be used as a food grain. Buckwheat is also often used in summer green manure mixes because it can produce biomass quickly.

Contributors

Liz Worth, Nellie Pryke