Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation

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Introduction

Buckwheat is grown mainly in Japan, China, Mongolia, Korea, USA, Canada, Kazakhstan, Bhutan, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Belarus, Slovenia and Brazil. In Australia a little buckwheat has been grown in the NSW highlands and Tasmania but the crop is now spreading into new areas of NSW and southern Victoria.

There are opportunities to produce buckwheat for export to Japan and possibly other countries, and to increase the Australian market. Buckwheat is a very healthy food and many Australian consumers and food companies are becoming interested in it.

World buckwheat production is 3 million t, mostly consumed in the country of production. Japan consumes 110,000 t/ year and grows 20,000 t, importing the balance from China, USA and Canada. Australia can supply buckwheat to Japan when its northern hemisphere supplies are no longer fresh, but Chile and Argentina may also be trying to enter that market.

Australian production is in its infancy. Some buckwheat has been grown in the NSW central tablelands. Tasmania grows some for a particular mill in Japan, and Victoria sowed its first crops in 1995. Production in Australia is still small but is expected to expand over the next three years.

Markets and marketing issues

It is essential to understand these cultural factors if export efforts to Japan are to be successful. We must be sensitive to their definitions and ideas about buckwheat quality. How we grow, harvest, handle and ship the grain are important to them and they like to feel involved.

Buckwheat is so nutritious that an old Japanese name for it is `Meat of the Fields'. It contains rutin, which improves cardiovascular health, very high levels of essential amino acids especially lysine, high dietary fibre and excellent levels of vitamins and minerals. It is also gluten free.

Critical buckwheat quality parameters are either physical, such as volume weight and moisture content, which are easy to measure, or are characteristics such as smell, flavour and groat colour, which are much harder to determine. Grain chemistry parameters such as protein and starch quality are not yet so important.

Grades of soba include hand-made fresh noodles, high quality dried noodles and supermarket brands. The best restaurants (`soba shops') hand make their noodles from Japanese buckwheat costing up to
$A4000/t while the cheapest dried noodles are made from Chinese grain costing $A600/t. Millers generally pay about $A1100/t for grain imported from the USA and Canada.

Several Australian export companies are developing markets in Japan, either through trading companies or direct to buckwheat mills. They offer contracts to growers, and provide seed supplies, advice and support. Several other countries are also showing interest in Australian buckwheat.

In other countries, buckwheat may be used in a wide variety of foods. In Australia, uses include, for example, pancake mixes, cakes, biscuits, breakfast cereals and noodles.

Production requirements

Ideal production districts in NSW include the New England Plateau and Central and Southern Highlands, and in Victoria the high valleys in the north-east, the Central Highlands and parts of the Western District and Gippsland.

Various soil types are suitable, from the ironbark country of some NSW highland areas to the deep red potato soils of Ballarat. Buckwheat responds to good summer rainfall, but is intolerant of waterlogging. It can manage with little water until flowering time, when either rain or irrigation is critical for yield.

Yields vary according to growing conditions, but experienced growers with reliable rainfall or who have irrigation available should achieve 2-2.5 t/ha in all but the harshest years. Improved varieties and agronomy should increase this in future.

Buckwheat varieties

Canadian varieties. The Canadian varieties `Mancan' and `Manor' are grown commercially in Australia, and the variety `Manisoba' was grown in trials during 1996-97. All three varieties grow, flower and ripen in 60 days.

Japanese varieties. There are three Japanese varieties: `Ikeda', `Shinano Ichigo' and `Kitawase'. The first two are tall, 90-day maturity varieties, the third is a 60-day variety resembling the Canadian buckwheats.

Japan has many landraces, and fewer cultivars produced by plant breeding.

Variety choice is based on growing season, frost likelihood, yield and customer requirements. Some Japanese buyers, for example, may prefer Japanese varieties.

Australian growers will soon have access to new improved Japanese and Canadian lines. A self-pollinating variety is being bred in Canada, and Japanese breeders are working to further improve the health-giving features of buckwheat grain.

Agronomy

It is sown from mid spring to early summer and harvested in autumn. Optimum sowing time will usually depend on variety, locality and seasonal conditions. The Japanese varieties should not be late sown in districts with high autumn frost risk, and flowering in the hottest weather should be avoided if possible.

Buckwheat emerges very rapidly in a good, moist seed bed. Pre irrigating, or sowing after rain, gives far better results than sowing into dry, cloddy seed beds and attempting to irrigate for emergence.

Optimum seed rate is yet to be determined, but low seed rates are safe only in weed-free paddocks. Calibrate the seeder carefully to sow 35-40 kg/ha of large seeded or Canadian varieties and 25-30 kg/ha of smaller seeded Japanese types.

The crop responds to phosphorus (P) but in trials so far there has been less response to nitrogen (N) or to other nutrients and trace elements. Local nutritional problems should be corrected with the same treatments used in other crops. P fertiliser is best drilled with the seed at a rate of 15 kg/ha of actual P, or up to 20 kg/ha in soils with very low phosphorus. If symptoms resembling N deficiency occur, hand-spread urea test patches and watch for responses.

Experience counts in buckwheat growing, so monitor the crop carefully throughout its growth, keeping notes of events and crop progress. `Buckwheat Check' monitoring forms, as well as assistance and advice, are available from the agronomists listed in Key contacts.

Pest and disease control

Few insect problems have been encountered, though brown cutworms, which can damage many spring-sown broad leaf crops, are an occasional problem in seedlings. Other potential pests to watch out for are Rutherglen bug and armyworm caterpillars, though the latter feed only rarely on broad leaf plants.

Weeds are a potential problem in some growing areas. On the Northern Tablelands vigorous summer grasses can cause serious problems. In some Victorian buckwheat districts fat hen and wild radish are encountered.

Herbicide control is being investigated but nothing is available yet in Australia. For the best weed control, prepare a seed bed, allow weeds to germinate and use a knockdown spray. Sow the crop evenly at 10-20 mm depth into a good moist seedbed, without deeper working which brings more weed seeds to the surface. Use correct sowing and fertiliser rates and avoid spaces and gaps in the crop. In many countries herbicides are seldom used, instead they grow buckwheat partly for its weed smothering capabilities.

Harvesting, handling and shipping

Buckwheat is ready to harvest when 75% of seeds have turned black and the moisture is within the range nominated by the buyer. There will often be some unripe seeds, green stems and leaves, and even flowers still on the plant. Direct heading is sometimes possible but many crops will need desiccation or windrowing to prevent the leaves from blocking riddles and contaminating the sample.

Desiccation with Reglone® is a proven method in Australia, but windrowing, the preferred method in the USA, is being investigated.

Moisture content is critical for buckwheat quality. For export to Japan, 15% is a common specification; domestic grain may have a lower moisture content. Harvesting at a higher moisture content for immediate delivery and drying may be an option. The seed cleaner will determine the percentage of high quality grain in the sample and the buyer will pay full price for that amount. The residue will fetch a lower price for stockfeed.

Use a slow drum speed and wide concave as over-threshing increases contamination of the sample with stem pieces and unripe seeds. Unless the sample is very clean and of correct moisture, it must be delivered immediately to the cleaning plant, or the grain will deteriorate rapidly. It will develop moulds and musty odours readily detectable by Japanese or other buyers. This affects the price or makes the grain unmarketable.

Export grain is graded, bagged and shipped in containers. Several companies are developing business in dehulling buckwheat for sale to local millers to prepare flour, groats or kibbled groats for domestic consumption. The hulls are in demand for filling pillows and soft toys.

Economics of production

Key contacts

Key References

Hennessy, G.F. (1992). Growing Buckwheat. NSW Agriculture Agfact P6.8.1, 2nd Edition.

Bluett, C.A. (1996). Buckwheat in Japan, a journey to study growing and marketing buckwheat and the VI International Symposium on Buckwheat, Sept 1995. Available from the author by request on fax (03) 5333 6540.

Matanao, T. and A Ujihara, A. Eds (1995). Current Advances in Buckwheat Research. Proceedings of the VI International Symposium on Buckwheat, Shinshu University, Ina, Japan.

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