Clayton Campbell plucks a seed from a buckwheat plant and slips it into his pocket.
The seed and the plant are precious – some people would even say they’re priceless. They represent a scientific breakthrough that could revolutionize buckwheat crops around the globe.
The plant is unique because it’s the first self-pollinating buckwheat species developed in the world. Campbell is president of the research company that created it.
“When we realized we had made a cross that was actually fertilizing and producing seeds, it was like a door swinging open,” he said during the seventh International Buckwheat Symposium in Winnipeg last week.
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“It’s a priceless step forward in the long term, academically as well as economically.”
Campbell, president of Kade Research Ltd. in Morden, Man., displayed the new species at the buckwheat symposium. He removed seeds from the self-pollinating plant to ensure they weren’t taken by someone else for duplication. It will be another two or three years before the new species is sold commercially.
Until now, buckwheat has had to cross-pollinate to produce seeds. However, the cross-pollination doesn’t always yield the results needed for a reliable crop.
In Canada, only about 12 percent of the seeds ripen to maturity under normal growing conditions, Campbell said. Yields can be seriously hampered if buckwheat suffers stress from heat and other weather conditions.
Efforts are now under way to modify the self-pollinating plant so that it produces 75 percent fewer flowers than existing varieties. The goal is to have a plant that yields mature seeds from all of its flowers. That would translate into higher yields once the self-pollinating species reaches farmers’ fields, Campbell said.
“We should get double the yield. That’s the target we’re looking at right now.”
Bring up to par
Improvements are also being made to things such as the flavor and starch content of the new species. Those qualities are important when selling buckwheat abroad. Almost all of Canada’s buckwheat is exported to Europe and Japan. Kade Research wants the quality of seed from its new species to match that of existing varieties sold overseas.
“We’re very close,” said Campbell. “We’re getting to the point where it’s looking the same and tasting the same.”
Kade Research was created through an international consortium of companies and associations involved in the buckwheat industry. The goal is developing new types of buckwheat.
Campbell said the self-pollinating species has a strong tolerance to frost, a quality badly needed in Canada. Frost can devastate buckwheat, a risk not all farmers are willing to take.
“If it is still maturing, frost can destroy the crop quite readily. It’s quite susceptible to it. What we’re doing is cutting out that risk factor.”
A frost-tolerant species could extend the growing season by up to two months, allowing farmers to plant later than they do now. Later-seeded crops tend to bring higher yields, Campbell said.
Kade Research has already developed other new varieties of buckwheat. Koban went into commercial production this year. Keukett and Koban 2 will be introduced commercially in Canada next year.
The new types produce higher yields and plumper seeds that have a higher starch content, ideal for noodles. Japan uses more than 100,000 tonnes of buckwheat for noodle production each year. That buckwheat comes from Japanese growers, as well as imports from Canada, the United States and China.
