-WORLD FOOD PRODUCTION-

2-Buckwheat

Common Buckwheat
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Polygonaceae
Genus:	Fagopyrum
Species:	F. esculentum
Binomial name
Fagopyrum esculentum Moench

Buckwheat refers to a variety of plants in the dicot family Polygonaceae: the Eurasian genus Fagopyrum, the North American genus Eriogonum, and the Northern Hemisphere genus Fallopia. Either of the latter two may be referred to as "wild buckwheat". Despite the name, they are not related to wheat, and are not cereals or grasses.
The cultivation of buckwheat grain, a pseudocereal food crop, declined sharply in the 20th century in affluent regions where the usage of nitrogen fertilizer is popular.

Contents [hide] 1 General 1.1 Fagopyrum 1.2 Eriogonum 1.3 Fallopia 2 Etymology 3 History 4 Agricultural production 4.1 Historical data 4.2 Present-day production 5 Chemical composition 5.1 Seeds 5.2 Herb 6 Use 6.1 Food 6.2 Beer 6.3 Medicinal uses 6.4 Upholstery filling 6.5 Biological control 6.6 Festivals 7 Kuttu ka atta 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] General

[edit] Fagopyrum

The crop plant, common buckwheat, is Fagopyrum esculentum. Tartary buckwheat (F. tataricum Gaertn.) or "bitter buckwheat" is also used as a crop, but it is much less common. Despite the common name and the grain-like use of the crop, buckwheat is not a cereal or grass. The grain is called a pseudocereal to emphasize that the plant is not related to wheat.
Buckwheat plants grow quickly, beginning to produce seed in about 6 weeks and ripening at 10 to 11 weeks. They grow 30 to 50 inches (75 to 125 cm) tall.^[1]
This genus has five-petaled flowers arranged in a compound raceme that produces laterally flowered cymose clusters.^[2]
Within Fagopyrum, the cultivated species are in the cymosum group, with F. cymosum L. (perennial buckwheat), F. giganteum and F. homotropicum.^[3]

[edit] Eriogonum

Eriogonum is a common chaparral plant throughout western North America, especially California, where it is the largest genus of dicots^[4] and at least 70 species have been cataloged.^[5] The flowers have six petals and occur in cymes.

[edit] Fallopia

The agricultural weed known as 'wild buckwheat' (Fallopia convolvulus) is in the same family, but not closely related to the crop species.

[edit] Etymology

The name 'buckwheat' or 'beech wheat' comes from its triangular seeds, which resemble the much larger seeds of the beech nut from the beech tree, and the fact that it is used like wheat. The word may be a translation of Middle Dutch boecweite : boec (modern Dutch beuk), beech (see PIE bhago-) + weite (mod. Dut. weit), wheat; or may be a native formation on the same model as the Dutch word.^[6]

[edit] History

Common Buckwheat in flower

The wild ancestor of common buckwheat is F. esculentum ssp.ancestrale. F. homotropicum is interfertile with F. esculentum and the wild forms have a common distribution, in Yunnan. The wild ancestor of tartary buckwheat is F. tataricum ssp. potanini.^[7]
Common buckwheat was domesticated and first cultivated in inland southeast Asia, possibly around 6000 BC, and from there spread to Central Asia and Tibet, and then to the Middle East and Europe. Domestication most likely took place in the western Yunnan region of China.^[8] Buckwheat is documented in Europe in the Balkans by at least the Middle Neolithic (circa 4000 BC). The oldest known remains in China so far date to circa 2600 BC while buckwheat pollen found in Japan dates from as early as 4000 BC. It is the world's highest elevation domesticate, being cultivated in Yunnan on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau or on the Plateau itself. Buckwheat was one of the earliest crops introduced by Europeans to North America. Dispersal around the globe was complete by 2006, when a variety developed in Canada was widely planted in China.
Buckwheat is a short season crop that does well on low-fertility or acidic soils, but the soil must be well drained. Too much fertilizer, especially nitrogen, will reduce yields. In hot climates, it can only be grown by sowing late in the season, so that it will bloom in cooler weather. The presence of pollinators greatly increases the yield. The nectar from buckwheat flower makes a dark colored honey. Buckwheat is sometimes used as a green manure, as a plant for erosion control, or as wildlife cover and feed.

[edit] Agricultural production

Seed and wither flower of buckwheat

Buckwheat is raised for grain where a short season is available, either because it is used as a second crop in the season, or because the climate is limiting. Buckwheat can be a reliable cover crop in summer to fit a small slot of warm season for establishment. It establishes quickly, which suppresses summer weeds.^[1]

[edit] Historical data

A century ago, Russia was the world leader in buckwheat production.^[9] Growing areas in the Russian Empire were estimated at 6.5 million acres (26,000 km²), followed by those of France (0.9 million acres; 3,500 km²).^[10] In 1970, the Soviet Union grew an estimated 4.5 million acres (18,000 km²) of buckwheat. China was then the world's top producer until 2005, with Russia becoming once again the top producer after 2007.
In the northeastern United States, buckwheat was a common crop in the 18th and 19th centuries. Cultivation declined sharply in the 20th century due to the use of nitrogen fertilizer, to which maize and wheat respond strongly. Over a million acres (4,000 km²) were harvested in the United States in 1918. By 1954, that had declined to 150,000 acres (610 km²), and by 1964, the last year production statistics were gathered, only 50,000 acres (200 km²) were grown.

[edit] Present-day production

Common buckwheat is by far the most important buckwheat species, economically, accounting for over 90% of the world's buckwheat production.

Woldwide buckwheat production (s : semi-official data — e : estimated data — a : aggregated from official and estimated data)^[11]

Buckwheat	Cultivated area (hectares)				Yield (hectograms/ha)				Production (tonnes)				Seed (tonnes)
Countries	2005		2007		2005		2007		2005		2007		2005
Russia	833 600		1 305 000		7 265	e	7 700	e	605 640		1,004,850		69 500	s
China	834 000	e	900 000	e	8 992		8 888		750 000	e	800,000	e	87 570	e
Ukraine	396 200		237 000		6 933	e	6 751	e	274 700		160 000		20 500	s
France	36 593		32 945		33 945	e	35 558	e	124 217		117 148		3 293	e
Poland	67 531		90 000	e	10 675	e	9 777	e	72 096		88 000	e	5 500	e
Kazakhstan	55 000		142 600		10 545	e	5 610	e	58 000	s	80 000	e	3 200	s
United States	65 000	e	68 000	e	10 000	e	10 000	e	65 000	e	68 000	e	2 600	e
Brazil	46 000	e	48 000	e	10 869	e	10 833	e	50 000	e	52 000	e	2 760	e
Japan	44 700		44 600	e	6 979	e	7 623	e	31 200		34 000	e	1 341	e
Lithuania	28 400		21 700		5 528	e	9 631	e	15 700		20 900		2 500	e
Belarus	7 106		11 500		10 227	e	11 304	e	7 268		13 000		1 000	e
Latvia	10 400		13 000	e	9 519	e	6 307	e	9 900		8 200	e
Bhutan	4 500	e	4 600	e	14 888	e	14 782	e	6 700		6 800	e	360	e
South Korea	2 257		2 650	e	9 937	e	11 320	e	2 243		3 000	e	90	e
Canada	4 000		2 000		11 500	e	11 500	e	4 600		2 300		300	e
Czech Republic	1 000	e			20 000	e			2 000	e			26	e
Slovenia	811		809		17 916	e	9 406	e	1 453		761		52	e
Hungary	752		800	e	6 156	e	5 000	e	463		400	e	60	e
Estonia	676		314		7 174	e	9 554	e	485		300
Slovakia	461		500	e	8 872	e	6 000	e	409		300	e
Moldova	2 811		7 200	e	3 429	e	416	e	964		300	e	252	e
Kyrgyzstan	378		600	e	9 179	e	8 333	e	347		500	e
South Africa	1 000	e	1 000	e	3 000	e	3 000	e	300	e	300	e	65	e
Croatia	45	e			31 111	e			140	e			2	e
Georgia	100	e	100	e	10 000	e	10 000	e	100	s	100	e
World	2 443 321	a	2 934 918	a	8 529	e	8 385	e	2 083 925	a	2 461 159	a	200 974	a

`WORLD FOOD PRODUCTION`

List of countries by barley production

Barley output in 2005. Dots are centred on the capital of each country and do not reflect the internal distribution of barley production within that country.

This is a list of countries by barley production in 2008 mostly based on FAOSTAT FAO accessed in August 2010.

[edit] Production by country >1,000,000 tonnes

Rank	Country/Region	Barley production (tonnes)
1	Russia	23,148,450
2	Ukraine	12,611,500
3	France	12,171,300
4	Germany	11,967,100
5	Canada	11,781,400
6	Spain	11,261,100
7	Australia	6,820,000
8	United Kingdom	6,144,000
9	Turkey	5,923,000
10	United States	5,214,394
11	Poland	3,619,460
12	People's Republic of China	3,550,000
13	Denmark	3,396,000
14	Iran	3,000,000
15	Czech Republic	2,243,865
16	Belarus	2,212,480
17	Finland	2,128,600
18	Kazakhstan	2,058,550
19	Sweden	1,801,000
20	Argentina	1,690,085
21	Hungary	1,478,200
22	Morocco	1,353,240
23	Ethiopia	1,352,148
24	Ireland	1,249,700
25	Italy	1,236,697
26	Romania	1,209,410
27	Algeria	1,200,000
28	India	1,196,100

RUSSIA BECOME MUSLIM STATES

Russia becoming a Muslim state!

By Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
Imagine Russia in 2050! According to Paul Goble, a specialist on ethnic minorities in the Russian Federation has predicted that within the next several decades, Russia will become a Muslim majority state. There is another bad news with fast decline in country’s population. This has already become a headache for Russian politicians and policy makers. President Vladimir Putin has called already for Russian women to have more children, because demographers predict that Russia’s population will fall from 143 million to 100 million by 2050. This situation has alarmed Russians as well Western leaders, more so because analysts estimate that Muslims will comprise the majority group in Russia’s population in few decades.
The Muslim population growth rate since 1989 is between 40 and 50 percent, depending on ethnic groups. Today Russia has about 8,000 mosques while 15 years there were only 300 mosques. According to statistics, by the end of 2015, number of mosques in Russia will cross 25,000. These statistics are frightening for many ethnic Russians who associate Islam with the Kremlin’s war against insurgents in Chechnya. Russia is shrinking. Alarmed by the situation, Putin has offered incentives to women who will have more children.
He said that the government would offer 1,500 roubles for the first child, and 3,000 roubles for the second child. He further said that the government will offer financial incentives to those couples who will adopt Russian orphans. But, response to Vladimir Putin’s call is almost zero. Main reason behind fast decline in non-Muslim population in Russia is, particularly larger section of young females in the country is not in favor of having even any child. If someone has, that is also limited within one only. On the other hand, almost all the Muslim couples have at least three children. The number generally ranges between 3-5.
Talking to Blitz, a leader of Moscow’s most populated area said, if the growth of Muslim population continues in the present trend, with the serious decline in population of other religious communities, Russian might ultimately end up as a Muslim state in next two decades. He suggested massive propaganda in favor of having more children in country’s mass media as well increase in the amount of incentives. He also pointed to the fact that, in most cases, such incentives might again go to the Muslim mothers, who generally have more than one child. This is not the question of incentives; it is a matter of realization for the entire non-Muslim Russian population. They should understand that by limited number of children, they are gradually pushing the fate of the country towards an Islamic federation.
Commenting on the issue, a former diplomat said, after the fall of Soviet Union, unfortunately, the entire Russian nation has lost their nationalist spirit, because of poverty and other socio-political adversities. Now they fear in having more than a single child in the family as the cost of living has become extremely expensive, while in most cases, female members of the families are rather forced to work in various fields to bring extra money for their families.
He said, not only the number of Muslim population in Russia is on fast growth because the Muslim women have more than one child, but in recent years, a large number of Islamist NGOs are actively working in the country, which are playing desperate role in having very large number of newly converts in Islam from other religion. He further said, especially the atheist groups are gradually getting inclined towards Islam because of extensive propaganda and activities of the Islamist NGOs.
Highly educated scholars are engaged in giving sermons in mosques and other public places on a regular basis, which is putting tremendous impact on the minds of the people, especially the younger generation. These Islamic clerics are even with suits and clean shaven face. They speak different languages fluently, which is a very strong point for them to attract the attention of already educated Russian people, who are in serious economic and social distress.
He said, in contrary to activities of Islamist NGOs, there are virtually no or very few activities of missionaries of other religious faiths in Russia. Although the Islamist clerics and missions have their hidden and open missions in mind, from their faces and sermons, it is really difficult to identify anything. They initially spread the message of peace, and end up with the poison of religious hatred and jihad. These groups are even gradually capturing Russian media, through investments via Western countries, which are actually Arab money. They are even spending money in giving voice and strength to Muslim leadership, with the ultimate goal of taking over the power of Kremlin.
Comparing the new converted Russian Muslims with Muslims in other countries, he said, they are more fanatics and their beliefs are deep rooted in their minds and thoughts. They openly pronounce that, the main reason behind accepting Islam was as salvage. Poison of hatred has greatly influenced their minds. They instantly take the example of Chechnya, where Kremlin forces committed serious massacre. In their inner thoughts, there is a kind of hatred for Russian leaders and for the non-Muslims, and they want to take revenge of Chechnya case.
A senior journalist with Russian Interfax news agency told Blitz Afro-Arab sources are putting millions of dollars behind Islamist NGOs in Russia. In near future, quite a number of important seats in Russian parliament will also go into the hands of Muslim leaders. He said, in Russian press clubs, number of Muslim journalists is increasing steadily. He said, millions of dollars are spent for building mosques and Islamist institutions in different parts of Moscow and other parts in Russia. The Islamist NGOs even operate orphanages, where children from various religions are adopted and later converted to Islam.
- Asian Tribune -