Tartary Buckwheat: A Climate-Ready Crop for the Future

UNH researchers are using advanced science to address challenges facing Northeast growers as a result of climate change. New research from Iago Hale, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station (NHAES) scientist and associate professor, and Noah Abasciano, master’s student in UNH’s genetics program, is seeking to identify an ideal grain crop for the Northeast — one that can be a staple in diets, offers significant nutritional benefits, provides price premiums for New Hampshire producers, and is highly resilient to the increasingly variable and unpredictable weather in the region. And the research team of Hale and Abasciano believe they have an excellent candidate—an underutilized and lesser-known crop known as Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum), a relative of common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) but one with unique qualities that make it suitable for production on a wide variety of soil types and quality across a broad range of climactic conditions.

Tartary Buckwheat: A Climate-resilient Crop

Volatile and at times record-breaking weather in late-2022 and in 2023 has been devastating for many New Hampshire farmers. And while Granite State producers will undoubtedly recover and continue sustaining the regional food systems that depend on New Hampshire’s agricultural production, 2023’s freezes, rains and floods were certainly a reminder that there can never be too many tools in farmers’ toolboxes for resilient food production. Tartary buckwheat, with its preference for cooler climates and ability to grow quickly (in just a few months) and with limited water, makes the plant ideal for the region and for fluctuating weather patterns.