Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench.) seeding date and cultivar response to Newfoundland growing conditions.

Citation

DB McKenzie, PL Dixon, C. Noronha and KN Hobrecker. 2017. Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench.) seeding date and cultivar response to Newfoundland growing conditions. Annual Meeting, the Canadian Phytopathological Society, 2017/
Réunion annuelle, la Société Canadienne de Phytopathologie, 2017, Canadian Journal of Plant
Pathology, 39:4, 540-586, DOI: 10.1080/07060661.2017.1386378
https://doi.org/10.1080/07060661.2017.1386378

Abstract

Increasing wireworm populations in agricultural fields are of concern to farmers in Atlantic Canada. Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench.) grown as a rotation crop before potatoes has been shown to reduce damage and increase marketable yield in wireworm-infested fields in Prince Edward Island; however, summer temperatures may be too cool for buckwheat to be as effective in Newfoundland. Buckwheat (cv. ‘Mancan’) grown in field trials at the St. John’s Research and Development Centre in 2014 and 2015 showed significant effects of seeding date on early bloom and full bloom dry matter yields, with a strong contrast between the two years due to differential July heat unit accumulation. The July 2015 average daily maximum temperatures were 9ºC cooler than in 2014 and resulted in much lower dry matter yields. In a second trial, nine Canadian buckwheat cultivars were planted at the same field location in late June in 2014 and 2015 after the risk of frost was below 10% probability. Dry matter yield differences were found between specific cultivars at early bloom and full bloom growth stage harvests; however, the most significant yield contrast was between the 2 years. The effects of these buckwheat treatments will be assessed by analysing the wireworm damage in potatoes from the 2016 production year.

Publication date

2017-11-06

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