Improvement of buckwheat production

Abstract

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) is a diploid (2n=16) annual alternative cereal, from the family Polygonaceae, the genus Fagopyrum, which originated in China. Buckwheat is successfully cultivated in the plains and mountainous regions of Serbia. It has excellent technological grain quality, contains important amino acids, iron, magnesium, folic acid, rutin, quercetin, kaempferol-3-rutinoside and a small amount of triglycoside, making it suitable foodstuff for special nutrition. Buckwheat has multiple uses, as food and feed, in the pharmaceutical and other industries. Buckwheat variety “Novosadska’ is one of the most grown varieties in Serbia. For successful production it is necessary to apply varietal cultivation technology. Knowledge of the biological properties of the plant itself and its requirements according to environmental conditions, form the basis of cultivation technology. Important agro-technical measures in buckwheat production are nutrition and row spacing. The aim of this study was to present preliminary results of the effects of row spacing (25 and 50 cm) and NPK nutrients (0; 30; 60 and 90 kg ha“) of the tested buckwheat variety “Novosadska’ to the following traits: germination energy and germination of seeds (%), seed weight per plant (g), number of seeds per plant and seed yield (kg ha). Based on the analysis of variance, row spacing and fertilization had a statistically significant effect on all of the examined factors.