WARM Season - Broadleaf

SEEDING / GROWTH:

 

 

Dates: Seed 6-10 weeks before average first frost and anytime after last threat of spring frost

 

Rates:

         Precision:   Not recommended

           Drilled:           20-35 lb/A , (1/2"  to 1" deep)

         Broadcast:   22-39 lb/A

          Aerial:             24-42 lb/A

 

Average seeds/lb: 20,400

Inoculate: No

Emergence: 3-7 days

Height: 2" - 5"

 

Drought & Heat:  Low drought tolerance

                                      Excellent heat tolerance

 

Flooding:   Does not tolerate flooding or ponding

PROS:

• Suppress annual and perennial weeds

• Improve soil condition

• Good for limited growing windows

• Attacts beneficial insects

• Rapid growth

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CONS:

 

• Low cold weather tolerance (easily killed by frost)

• Root biomass is much less than cereals

• Sensitive to residue of herbicides containing triazine, sulfonylurea, and trifluralin

• Should not be used in a field with history of root lesion nematode

Buckwheat is the speedy short-season cover crop.  It establishes blooms and reaches maturity in just 70 to 90 days and its residue breaks down quickly.  Buckwheat suppresses weeds and attracts beneficial insects an pollinators with its abundant blossoms.  It is easy to kill, and reportedly extracts soil phosphorus from soil better than most grain-type cover crops.  Few cover crops establish as rapidly and as easily as Buckwheat.  Its rounded pyramid-shaped seeds germinate in just three to five days.  Leaves up to 3 inches wide can develop within two weeks to create a relativley dense, soil shading canopy.  Buckwheat typically produces only 2 to 3 tons of dry matter per acre, but it does so quickly - in just 6-8 weeks.  Buckwheat residue also decomposes quickly releasing nutrients to the next crop.