Is common buckwheat sweet? Planting and harvest times and growing tips for each region

In May 2018, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued the 2018 Technical Guidance for Common Buckwheat Production, offering planting guidance for three regions: the eastern Inner Mongolia production area, the central Inner Mongolia and northwestern Shanxi production area, and the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia production area. So is common buckwheat sweet? When is the best time to plant? When is it harvested?

Common buckwheat is an important grain crop, cash crop and healthy food resource in China. It has the characteristics of a short growth period, drought tolerance and tolerance of poor soil, and can achieve high yields within a relatively short growing season. The main production areas include Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia and other places. In recent years, with the development of buckwheat rice and buckwheat flour processing, demand for buckwheat has increased. To promote the development of common buckwheat production and help adjust the agricultural structure, the Expert Steering Group for Minor Grain and Bean Crops of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, together with the National Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center, put forward the 2018 Technical Guidance for Common Buckwheat Production.

I. Eastern Inner Mongolia production area

This area includes Chifeng City, Tongliao City and other places in Inner Mongolia, and is a white-flowered buckwheat production area in China.

(1) Crop rotation. Mainly promote the rotation pattern of potato—broomcorn millet/foxtail millet—buckwheat, and pea/lentil/grass pea—flax—buckwheat, implementing rotation with an interval of more than 3 years to avoid continuous cropping.

(2) Apply sufficient base fertilizer. Common buckwheat is mostly planted on dry land and mountainous land, and fertilization generally adopts the one-time basal application technique, that is, combined with autumn plowing or spring plowing, applying all the fertilizer needed for the whole growth period into the soil at once, with no additional topdressing during the growth period. Organic fertilizer is mainly used, applied at 500—750 kg per mu.

(3) Select good varieties. According to local ecological conditions and production levels, scientifically select high-quality varieties, and avoid cross-region introduction of seeds without trial and demonstration. Choose high-yield, superior varieties that are drought-resistant, cold-resistant and tolerant of poor soil, with a growth period of 80—90 days.

(4) Sow at the appropriate time. Sow in mid-to-late June and harvest at the end of September. Sun the seeds for 2—3 days before sowing and carefully select them. The sowing depth is 4—5 cm, and care should be taken that the covering soil is of uniform thickness. For common buckwheat, the sowing rate is generally 2—3 kg per mu, with 60,000—80,000 plants per mu.

(5) Strengthen field management. Carry out the first intertillage when the seedlings are about 10 cm tall, and the second intertillage at the budding stage. During the flowering stage, spray potassium dihydrogen phosphate on the leaves to promote seed setting, and methods such as placing bees or artificial supplementary pollination can also be used to increase the seed-setting rate.

(6) Harvest at the right time. Harvest before Frost's Descent. Common buckwheat is mature when 70% of the grains show the inherent color of the variety. The grain can be safely stored when the moisture content is below 14%.

II. Central Inner Mongolia and northwestern Shanxi production area

This area includes northwestern Shanxi and Ulanqab City, Hohhot City and Baotou City in Inner Mongolia.

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

(2) Sow at the appropriate time. Sow early after the late frost ends. In this area, common buckwheat is sown from mid-to-late May to early June and harvested in early September. The sowing depth is 4—5 cm. The sowing rate is 2—3 kg per mu, and the soil should be pressed down promptly after sowing. The basic seedling population is 50,000—60,000 plants per mu.

(3) Formula fertilization. Apply 500—750 kg of organic fertilizer per mu, and 5—7 kg of diammonium phosphate or 5—7 kg of urea as seed fertilizer.

(4) Pest and disease control. Carry out reasonable crop rotation, and carry out seed coating before sowing. For the buckwheat hook-thorn moth, adult insects can be caught with nets, trapped and killed with lights, or controlled with chemical pesticides.

(5) Harvest at the right time. When 70% of the grains on the whole plant show the color of mature grains, it can be harvested.

III. Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia production area

This area includes Yulin City and Yan'an City in Shaanxi, Qingyang City, Pingliang City, Dingxi City and Baiyin City in Gansu, and Wuzhong City, Guyuan City and Zhongwei City in Ningxia, and is the main cultivation area for pink-flowered buckwheat.

(1) Select good varieties. According to local ecological conditions and production levels, scientifically select high-quality varieties, and avoid cross-region introduction of seeds without trial and demonstration. In this area, common buckwheat is sown from early June to early July and harvested in mid-to-late September. The main promotion is high-quality pink-flowered varieties used for making rice and flour.

(2) Pre-sowing preparation. Choose previous crops of beans, cereals or tubers, plow in time before winter, and after plowing harrow and level the soil to preserve moisture. Combined with plowing, apply 500—750 kg of farmyard manure, 10—15 kg of diammonium phosphate and 7—10 kg of urea per mu.

(3) Sow at the appropriate time. The sowing period is early to mid-June. Sun the seeds before sowing, carefully select the seeds, and remove impurities and shriveled grains. Use drilling, with a row spacing of 30 cm and a sowing depth of 4—6 cm. After sowing, press the soil to preserve moisture, with a basic seedling population of 50,000—60,000 plants per mu.

(4) Insect control. Select suitable insecticides and poison baits, apply them to the soil surface before harrowing, and trap and kill mole crickets and other underground pests.

(5) Mechanical harvesting. Common buckwheat is mature when 70% of the grains show the inherent color of the variety. Adopt two-stage harvesting: first harvest with a swather, dry in the field for 7—10 days, then thresh with an automatic pickup thresher or a stationary thresher.