Grain Yield and Morphological Character of Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) Grown in Winter in Subtropical Japan

Abstract

We studied the grain yielding ability of common buckwheat grown in the subtropical area of Japan. Five buckwheat cultivars were sown in early November, late December and early March. Grain yield of plants sown at 150 seeds m^-2 was 1.3 to 3.4 times higher than that sown at 50 seeds m^-2. The main stem was shorter, first flower node was lower, flower cluster number on the main stem and flower number per flower cluster were lower than the values reported for the plants grown in other regions of Japan. These morphological characters may be caused by short day condition in this environment. The differences among cultivars in the main stem length, the number of flower clusters on the main stem, the number of flowers per flower cluster and one seed weight were similar to those in other regions in Japan. A high correlation was observed between grain yield and the number of flower clusters on the main stem, in the plants sown in early November and late December.