Buckwheat – Food Plot Plant Profile

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum)

Buckwheat is a warm season broadleaf annual and can be found anywhere in the continental US.  It prefers light to medium textured soils with good drainage and does poorly in heavy saturated soils.  Buckwheat cannot tolerate frost or extreme drought.  While buckwheat is often fed to livestock it is also an excellent wildlife forage, especially when planted with other warm season crops.  Buckwheat has numerous wildlife benefits.  It is a great plant for pollinators like bees because it produces abundant flowers and nectar.  In addition, it produces seeds that are readily consumed by seed-eating birds like northern bobwhite, dove, and eastern wild turkey.  The forage of this plant has an impressive protein content at 15% - 25%.  Deer will rapidly consume the flowering stalks of buckwheat, often walking passed other forages to seek out individual stalks.  In some areas of the southeast, buckwheat is known as the bow hunters dream.  Because of its rapid growth hunters can plant buckwheat in the early fall and actually hunt over it until the first frost.

The recommended time to plant buckwheat is in the spring after any chance of frost.  You can plant buckwheat alone or in combination with other spring crops like cowpeas, Alyceclover, or browntop millet.  Plant at 50 lbs. per acre alone or somewhat less if planted in combination.  It is recommended to plant on a well-prepared seedbed and to fertilize with at least 200 lbs. 13-13-13 per acre.  Seed can be drilled or broadcast but will need to be covered with drag if you use the latter method.    As always, it is best if you get a soil test and follow the resulting recommendations.

There are better, more productive forages than buckwheat for deer.  However, if you want an excellent plant to add to a combination of cowpeas, Alyceclover, and browntop or if you are targeting both deer and gamebirds, buckwheat is a nice fit. It comes up quick, produces good forage and seed, and is excellent for pollinators.