ABSTRACT
Evaluation of European buckwheat genotypes at different elevations and seasons in Montenegro under organic farming conditions

Mujo Vreva1, Mirela Matkovic Stojsin2*, Jasmina Balijagic3, Sanida Arslanovic Lukac4, Kristina Lukovic5, Milan Stojsin6, and Veselinka Zecevic5
 
Organic farming and the introduction of underutilized crops such as buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) play an important role in enhancing agricultural biodiversity and promoting sustainable farming practices. This study examines the variability and stability of 11 European buckwheat genotypes at two different elevations (610 and 830 m) under organic farming principles over two growing seasons. Genotype, elevation, and year factors significantly contributed to the phenotypic variation of traits. Environmental factors had the greatest impact on the variation in biomass yield (32.6%) and grain yield (28.4%), while the least influence was observed on the variation in thousand grain weight (6.3%). Higher plant height (120.11 cm) and biomass yield (14.2 t ha-¹) were recorded at the lower elevation (610 m), while higher grain yield (662.2 kg ha-¹) and thousand grain weight (22.9 g) were observed at the higher elevation (830 m). In 2015, plant height, biomass yield, thousand grain weight, and grain yield were 3.87%, 14.87%, 2.70%, and 15.95% higher, respectively, compared to 2016. Excessive rainfall in 2016 led to plant lodging, negatively affecting vegetative growth and yield. The additive main effect multiplicative interaction (AMMI) analysis showed that genotypes ‘La Harpe’ and ‘Heljda 2’ were stable and high-yielding across different environments, while ‘Novosadska’, ‘Darja’ and ‘Prekumurska’ exhibited positive interactions with the higher elevation environment (830 m) during the dry 2015 season. Heatmap cluster analysis indicated that genotypes ‘Darja’ and ‘La Harpe’ demonstrated broad adaptability for the analyzed traits, while ‘Heljda 1’ and ‘Heljda 2’ were particularly suited to high-rainfall conditions, achieving high grain yield or grain quality.
Keywords: Adaptability, AMMI, buckwheat, heatmap cluster analysis, stability.
1Municipality of Bijelo Polje – Directorate for Logistics, Protection and Maintenance, 84000 Bijelo Polje, Montenegro.
2”Tamiš” Research and Development Institute, 26000 Pancevo, Serbia.
3University of Montenegro, Biotechnical Faculty, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro.
4Secondary Mixed School – Petnjica, 84312 Petnjica, Montenegro.
5Institute for Vegetable Crops Smederevska Palanka, 11420 Smederevska Palanka, Serbia.
6University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Agriculture, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia.
*Corresponding author (matkovic.stojsin@institut-tamis.rs).