Appraisal of Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum L.) Genotypes for Growth, Yield, Yield Attributes, Seed and Seedling Characteristics under Prayagraj Agro-Climatic Conditions

Buckwheat is referred as poor man’s food because it has good fibre, carbohydrates and essential amino acids. So, it must be made as an integral crop in agriculture production system. For this purpose, production is to be improved through development and breeding of new varieties. So, an experiment was conducted by using 26 buckwheat genotypes to evaluate them under Prayagraj agro-climatic conditions during 2021-22 to study growth, yield and yield attributes. The field experiment was conducted in randomized block design (RBD) with three replications and lab experiments were conducted in complete randomized design (CRD) with four replications. During the field experiment all genotypes showed wide variations among them for both growth and yield attributing traits. Among twenty-five genotypes, IC 108508 produced highest yield plot-1 (405g) followed by IC 26755 (315g), IC 37275 (299.3g) and IC 107575 (277.3g) higher yield than check PRB 1 (208.3 g). These genotypes also showed high to moderate values for growth and yield attributes. Therefore, these genotypes can be suggested for cultivation under Prayagraj agro-climatic conditions. Under laboratory study, it was observed that IC 42412 performed better for germination percent (97%), seedling length (27.9cm), fresh weight (1.05g), dry weight (0.303 g), vigour index I (2703), vigour index II (29.39), viability percent (99%) and electrical conductivity (0.22dsm-1). The highest protein content (14.1g%) was recorded in IC 24300 genotype. Therefore, IC 42412 can be considered as physiologically potential genotype. Through correlation and path analysis it was clear that number of seeds plant-1, inflorescence length, economic yield, number of inflorescence plant-1 and days to maturity may be considered for selection in crop improvement. Through this study it was concluded that IC 108508, IC 26755, IC 37275, IC 107575 and IC 42412 can be used for further breeding programs.