Is tartary buckwheat, which is both medicinal and edible, a whole grain? Which regions are suitable for growing it? When to plant? When to harvest? (with cultivation techniques for each region)

In May 2018, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued technical guidance for tartary buckwheat production, stating that tartary buckwheat has a short growth period, is drought-tolerant and tolerant of poor soil, is rich in bioflavonoids, and is an important resource for health foods. The national perennial planting area of tartary buckwheat is 500—600 wan mu, with a total output of 60—65 wan tons, so is tartary buckwheat a whole grain? Which regions are suitable for growing it? When to plant? When to harvest?

Tartary buckwheat is a whole grain produced in the cold high-altitude region of the Wumeng Mountains in Weining, Guizhou, and it is also a staple food in Weining, Guizhou. It can accelerate blood circulation and contains the powerful antioxidant vitamin P, which can lower blood lipids, enhance blood vessel elasticity, and prevent blood clotting. It is an excellent heart-protective food and a rare crop in nature that is both medicinal and edible.

Which regions are suitable for growing it?

The main production areas include Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Chongqing, and other places. In recent years, the tartary buckwheat planting area has remained stable with a slight increase, and tartary buckwheat planting in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Hubei, Hunan, and other places has shown an expanding trend.

Cultivation techniques for each region:

1. Southwest tartary buckwheat region

This region is the main tartary buckwheat production area in China, mainly including Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and other places.

(1) Select good varieties. According to local ecological conditions and production levels, scientifically select high-quality varieties and avoid cross-regional introduction of seeds without experimental demonstration.

(2) Carefully prepare the land. Tartary buckwheat should not be continuously cropped, and better rotation linkage is achieved with previous crops such as beans, potato, oats, corn, and flue-cured tobacco. After the previous crop is harvested, plow and clear stubble in time, and carry out secondary land preparation 3—4 days before sowing so that the sowing layer is loose, fine, and level. During land preparation, apply 500—750 kg of organic fertilizer per mu.

(3) Sow at the appropriate time. Spring sowing is generally in early April and harvested in July—August; autumn sowing is in early to mid-August and harvested in November. Before sowing, carefully select and sun-dry the seeds. Biogas slurry seed soaking or chemical seed dressing may also be used to prevent diseases and promote emergence. For drilling, wide and narrow rows are generally used, with beds 5—6 m wide, sowing width 13—17 cm, empty row 20—25 cm, preferably north-south ridges, with 60,000—90,000 basic seedlings per mu. For dibbling, row spacing is 25—30 cm, with 5—7 plants per hole.

(4) Pest and disease control. The main diseases of tartary buckwheat include ring spot, brown spot, and white mold, and control measures generally include chemical seed dressing and crop rotation. The main insect pests include the two-striped leaf beetle, armyworm, meadow moth, and hook-wing moth, and control is generally carried out from the bud stage to the flowering stage.

(5) Harvest at the appropriate time. Harvest promptly when 80% of plants in the field have mature grains. After harvesting, pile in the field for 2—3 days for threshing and drying, and store when the seed moisture content is below 13%.

2. Northern tartary buckwheat region

This region mainly includes Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and other places.

(1) Sow at the appropriate time. Generally sown from mid-to-late June to early July and harvested in late September. The sowing rate is 2—3 kg per mu. Soak seeds in biogas slurry for 2—3 hours before sowing. Use drill sowing or mechanical drilling, with row spacing 30—40 cm, sowing depth 3—5 cm, and 40,000—50,000 basic seedlings per mu.

(2) Select good varieties. According to local ecological conditions and production levels, scientifically select high-quality varieties and avoid cross-regional introduction of seeds without experimental demonstration.

(3) Strengthen field management. Cultivate 2—3 times: the first cultivation combined with thinning and final singling, the second at the branching stage, and the third at the initial flowering stage.

(4) Mechanical harvesting. Buckwheat is mature when 70% of the grains show the inherent color of the variety. Use two-stage harvesting: first harvest with a swather, leave in the field for 7—10 days, then use an automatic pickup thresher or stationary thresher for threshing. The use of combine harvesters should be avoided as much as possible to reduce harvest losses.

3. Southern tartary buckwheat region

This region mainly includes Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, and other places, as well as parts of Chongqing and Yunnan.

(1) Reasonable crop rotation. Actively promote potato—buckwheat—oats rotation or potato—beans—buckwheat rotation to avoid continuous cropping, increase yield and quality, and reduce the occurrence of pests and diseases.

(2) Select excellent varieties. According to local ecological conditions and production levels, scientifically select high-quality varieties.

(3) Do a good job in land preparation and sowing. Fertilization adopts a one-time basal application technique, that is, combining autumn plowing or spring plowing to apply all the fertilizer needed for the entire growth period into the soil at one time, with no topdressing during the growing period. Fertilization is mainly organic fertilizer, with increased phosphate fertilizer and an appropriate amount of nitrogen fertilizer. Sowing adopts methods such as small-hole dibbling and precision drilling. Generally sown in mid-to-late August and harvested in November. Sun-dry the seeds 2—3 days before sowing and carefully select them. The sowing depth is 4—5 cm, and care should be taken to keep the soil cover thickness consistent when sowing. The sowing rate is 3—4 kg per mu, with 80,000—100,000 seedlings retained per mu.

(4) Control insects and rodents. In plots with severe underground pests, treat the soil with high-efficiency, low-toxicity insecticides before sowing. In plots with severe rodent damage, use wheat grains soaked in a mixed aqueous solution of high-efficiency, low-toxicity pesticide and rapeseed oil as bait and place them into rodent holes to poison them. Replace the bait once every 3—5 days for 5—7 consecutive times, and pay attention to pesticide safety.