VARIETAL DIFFERENCES AND HERITABILITY FOR RUTIN CONTENT IN COMMON BUCKWHEAT, FAGOPYRUM-ESCULENTUM MOENCH

Buckwheat is considered to be one of the useful sources of rutin in fo od. To analyze the varietal differences and heritability for the rutin content in seed and leaf in common buckwheat, twenty seven cultivars and strains introduced from the major countries where buckwheat is cul tivated were tested. Plant materials were grown in 1992 and 1993 in a randomized block design with two replications each year in the Experim ental Field of Shinshu University. Rutin content in seed and leaf was determined by high performance liquid chromatography, and the main cha racters were also observed. The mean values of the rutin content showe d a wide range of variation. The seed rutin content of the tetraploid cultivars of Japan was higher than that of the diploid ones, However, there was no significant difference between the ploidy level for leaf. Analysis of variance of the rutin content and main characters mas per formed, except for the tetraploid cultivars. The varietal differences mere significant at 0.1 % level for the rutin content in seed and leaf . Highly significant differences in the rutin content of seed and leaf were recognized among areas. Especially some of the Nepalese strains which contain a high concentration of rutin in seeds are considered to be useful breeding materials. The correlation coefficients of the rut in content in seed and leaf between the two years were 0.73 * * and 0.64 * *, respectively. The heritability values of the rutin content in seed and leaf, days to first flowering, 1,000 seed weight and seed weight per plant were estimated at 0.59, 0.25, 0.75, 0.38 and 0.07, r espectively. These results indicate that the rutin content in seed is a trait with a relatively high heritability among the main characters in common buckwheat. Therefore, it is considered that it is possible t o breed for rutin content in seed. The rutin content in leaf is a trai t comparatively affected by environmental conditions. Furthermore, it is necessary to clearly define the genetic correlation between the rut in content and agronomic characters.