Buckwheat: Potential Stress-Tolerant Crop for Mid-Hills of Eastern Himalaya under Changing Climate

Abstract

Under changing climate, identification and diversification of cropping systems having higher stress resilience and adaptability for fragile mountain ecosystems of Eastern Himalayan Region (EHR) are paramount. Lesser known and underutilized crop like buckwheat (BW) with year-round cultivation potential and having higher stress tolerance to prevailing stresses (low pH, low moisture) could be a crop of choice for abating malnutrition among hill inhabitants. Proper time of sowing of the crop is between mid-September and mid-December seemingly essential for better grain yield to the tune of 15.0–18.0 q ha−1, and the crop is found suitable to be grown all through the year for higher green biomass (12.6–38.4 q ha−1). Enhanced exudation of low-molecular-weight organic acids (LMWOA) like oxalic acid by buckwheat increased the solubilization of fixed forms of free phosphorus (P) to the extent of 35.0 to 50.0 micro gram per plant in ideal acid soil of the region (P) in acid soil. In addition, relatively increased resilience to moisture stress with improved stress physiological attributes adds more potentiality for enhancing cropping intensity of hill slopes of EHR. Few genotypes namely IC377275 (18.97q ha−1), IC26591 (17.1 qt ha−1), IC14890 (16.32q ha−1), and Himapriya (15.27q ha−1) are emerging as high-yielding types for productive cultivation in acid soils. Studies on the combined effects of acid soil and moisture stress would aid in novel crop improvement of buckwheat in EHR.