Where does buckwheat grow in the world: in which countries is it grown, where does the best cereal grow?
Buckwheat is a very popular plant cultivated in many countries around the world. At the same time, not every person knows where buckwheat grows in the world, in which countries it is grown and where the best varieties grow. This crop is actively grown in Poland, France and India. Plantings in Brazil and the USA increase annually. However, the maximum amount of this cereal is obtained in China and Russia.
What does blooming buckwheat look like
Cultivated buckwheat is a tall and well-branched plant, which is distinguished by powerful and developed roots.Varieties and cultivars influence the average stem height. However, on average, it is 70-110 centimeters. The root system of the plant is characterized by high physiological activity. Related to this is the ability of buckwheat to displace weeds from fields.
This culture is characterized by a hollow and slightly ribbed stem, the thickness of which is 2.5-8.5 millimeters. The leaves are pointed. They can be oval or triangular. From the leaf axils of the fourth order, thin peduncles appear. Over time, inflorescences are formed on them, including 2-5 flowers. With quality care, up to 3 thousand flowers appear on one plant during the flowering period. They can be milky white, red, pink or pink and white.
Flowering of varietal buckwheat begins after the completion of the formation of the root system. This period is considered the most energy-consuming in the life of culture. During the flowering period, the mass of the aerial part of buckwheat increases by 2-4 times.Although the breeding varieties of the plant are cross-pollinated, bees are required for a good harvest. The flowers have open nectaries that are easily accessible to insects. This simplifies the pollination process.
When and how it is collected
Buckwheat is characterized by an extended ripening period. In Russia, the harvest is carried out in a separate way. Due to the long maturation period, it is not easy to determine the start of harvesting.
When work is carried out early, the yield parameters are reduced due to the large number of unfulfilled grains. If you start harvesting too late, there is a risk of increased losses due to heavy shedding of grains. In addition, it can be difficult to determine the harvesting period due to the tendency of buckwheat to secondary fruit formation. This situation is observed if at the beginning of the formation of fruits there was dry weather, which then gave way to heavy precipitation.
As a rule, farmers start harvesting when 75% of the grains are ripe. It takes up to 5 days for mowing and windrowing. By the time the work is completed, grains are ripening on 95-98% of the fields.
To determine the proportion of ripe fruits, it is recommended to take a seed sample from 10 plants in 5-7 different locations in the fields. After that, it is required to calculate the number of mature grains from the total number. If during the harvest period there is dry and hot weather, it is recommended to mow in the morning and evening. Thanks to this, the stalks do not break so much, and the grains crumble less.
For mowing, combine harvesters equipped with mounted headers are used, for example, ZhVN-6A. For harvesting from weedy and downed buckwheat, it is worth using ZhKS-4A class headers. Rolls are recommended to be threshed for 3-6 days after mowing. In this case, the moisture content of the grain should be 14-17%. After threshing, the grain heap must be passed through special cleaning machines. This helps to weed out chaff seeds and weeds. Then the cereal is dried to standard moisture content.
Regions of growing buckwheat
Buckwheat is grown in different countries of the world. This culture is considered demanding on light and heat. However, she is able to form shoots for a long time, lay an unlimited number of inflorescences and survive among weeds.
In RF
In Russia, buckwheat is mainly grown in the southeast. The maximum cultivated areas are concentrated in the following regions:
- Altai Territory;
- Bashkiria;
- Orenburg region;
- Oryol region;
- Novosibirsk region.
Other countries
Buckwheat is actively grown in various countries of the world. Among the leaders in the production of this cereal, it is worth highlighting the following states:
- China;
- Ukraine;
- France;
- Poland;
- USA;
- Brazil;
- Lithuania;
- Japan.
What determines the growth rate
The increase in buckwheat sown areas is associated with an increase in demand for cereals and high prices. Additional factors that allow you to increase the fields with this plant are climatic and soil conditions. For example, in the Russian regions where this crop is grown, it was possible to improve the condition of the soil through the use of fertilizers. In addition, quite mild winters are observed there, which creates favorable conditions for growing buckwheat.
Interesting facts
The cultivation of this crop is connected with a number of interesting facts. Among them, it is worth highlighting the following:
- Buckwheat does not require specific care during the ripening period. She gives a good harvest even without top dressing and easily copes with weeds that simply cannot grow nearby.
- Buckwheat is one of the few plants that cannot be genetically modified. Because there are no GMO varieties of this crop.
- For the first time, people began to grow buckwheat more than 6 thousand years ago. It happened in Southeast Asia.
- In European countries, buckwheat is mainly cultivated for honey. This product tastes great and brings great he alth benefits.
- According to the content of valuable amino acids, buckwheat is close to products of animal origin. Therefore, it should be considered as a valuable meat substitute. In addition, cereals are much better absorbed by the body.
- Buckwheat is part of the national Japanese cuisine. They make buckwheat noodles called soba from this product.
- After roasting, buckwheat becomes much tastier. This type of processing gives the grits a pleasant aftertaste.
- Buckwheat is not a cereal. The closest biological relatives of this plant are rhubarb and sorrel.
- In terms of the content of vitamins and minerals, buckwheat is 1.5-3 times higher than other cereals.
- Buckwheat contains 3 out of 8 amino acids necessary for the body. These include lysine, threonine and tryptophan.
- Regular consumption of buckwheat porridge has a positive effect on the psycho-emotional state and brain functions.
Buckwheat is a very valuable plant, which is a source of tasty and he althy cereals. That is why this crop is grown in various countries of the world.
