Germination response of buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) grown in northern Patagonia at different temperatures.

KEIL, A; PIÑUEL, L; GALLEGO, J; QUICHAN, S; ZUBILLAGA, F

Encuentro; XXXIII Argentinian meeting of Plant Physiology; 2021

The Lower Black River Valley (VIRN) could be considered the southernmost buckwheat growing area in the country. The environmental conditions of the VIRN make its phenological cycle extend from November to April. During this period, the average maximum temperatures (T°) vary between 29 and 21°C and the minimum temperatures between 14 and 7.8°C. The objective of this study was to determine the germination response of locally produced buckwheat at different germination T° (5; 10; 15; 20; 25; 30; 35 and 40°C). A germination chamber was used and the seeds were placed in Petri dishes conditioned with cotton, paper and adequate humidity. The number of seeds per plate was 20 with five replicates per T°. Germinated seeds were counted every 24 hours for seven days. The parameters evaluated/estimated were: germination capacity (GC); germination energy (GE); mean germination time (MTG), germination rate index (GRI).At 5, 10 and 40ºC no germination was observed. The variables CG (95%) and EG (99.9%) showed no statistical differences in the 15 to 30ºC range. However, TMG decreased with increasing T°, with the lowest values at 30-35°C (1.46 days ± 0.08). IVG increased to a maximum at 30°C (17.60 ± 0.74 ).These results indicate that 30°C is the optimum T° for germination, since all parameters evaluated were optimal at this temperature. The results found confirm the optimum temperature (20-30°C) proposed by the ISTA standards (2009) for this crop.