It can manage with little water until flowering time, when either rain or irrigation is critical for yield. Improved varieties and agronomy should increase this in future. Buckwheat is an out-crossing plant so seed crops should be isolated to retain purity. Bees may well help improve yield. All three varieties grow, flower and ripen in 60 days.
Japan has many landraces, and fewer cultivars produced by plant breeding.
Variety choice is based on growing season, frost likelihood, yield and customer requirements. Some Japanese buyers, for example, may prefer Japanese varieties. Australian growers will soon have access to new improved Japanese and Canadian lines. Agronomy Buckwheat is grown using standard cereal seeding and harvesting equipment with no special machinery or modifications required. It is sown from mid spring to early summer and harvested in autumn.