Abstract
Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench), a pseudo-cereal, has potential as a forage crop, cover crop, grain crop for animal feed and human food, honey bee crop, and a smother crop for weed suppression. Even though, buckwheat has a long history in Virginia, currently this crop is almost non-existent in this area. The New Crops Program of Virginia State University started researching buckwheat in 2015 as an alternate food crop and as a plant to support honey bees. These studies led into evaluation of buckwheat as a forage crop. Approximately 30-day old buckwheat tissue of two cultivars (Koto and Mancan), planted on June 22 or July 20 during 2015, yielded 4784 pounds fresh weight and 1000 pounds dry matter per acre. Buckwheat biomass contained approximately 21 percent protein and approximately 6 percent oil. Quality of buckwheat forage compared well with literature values for alfalfa hay, perennial peanut, soybean, white lupin, and Tepary bean forage.
Highlights
Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench, Family Polygonaceae) is considered a pseudo-cereal
Buckwheat can be used as a forage crop, cover crop, grain crop for animal feed and human food, honey bee crop, and a smother crop for weed suppression
Composition traits of buckwheat from this study were compared to literature values for alfalfa hay, perennial peanut, and soybean forage
Summary
Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench, Family Polygonaceae) is considered a pseudo-cereal. Buckwheat is an extremely short-duration crop and has great potential when “normal” crops fail. It improves the soil and suppresses weeds; needs very little attention during the growing season; makes a great rotation crop; often grows well on low-fertility land; is a high-yield crop; and can be planted as late as mid-July in many areas and is fast growing—70 days from planting to harvest full. Literature indicates that buckwheat can be used as a forage (Cheng, 2018; Amelchanka et al, 2010; Mariotti et al, 2016; Mu et al, 2019), information about use of buckwheat as a summer forage crop in Virginia and adjoining states is non-existent. Objectives of the current study were to determine buckwheat forage yield following different planting dates and to characterize its’ nutritional value for forage use
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