A Complete Guide to Soybean Cultivation and Production

Soybeans are one of the most popularly grown legumes, native to the East-Asia and now grown almost everywhere. They are used as oilseeds as they are made up of around 18% oil. Soybeans are grown in conditions similar to corn. Soybeans are used in preparation of oil, biofuel, crayons and some other uses too. Its production is nearly similar to corn production.

Cultivation of Soybean

Let us understand about all the requirements of soybean cultivation step by step.

Climatic and Soil

Soybean is a warm season crop to grow in summer. And loamy well drained fertile soil is good for growing soybean. Land preparation for soybean should be done by proper ploughing followed by laddering.

Sowing

Mid-June is the best time for sowing soybean. Seeds should be sown by seed drill method in rows spacing 45-50 cm. And seeds spacing between 4-7 cm. Seed rate of 25-30 kg is preferred for sowing in 1-acre land.

Fertilizers

Soybean can use atmospheric nitrogen, but that’s not sufficient. So, crop is supplied with 10-15% of total nitrogen requirement. 12.5 kg of Nitrogen per acre and 32 kg per acre of Phosphorus is sufficient. And Potash is required only if deficiency observed.

Irrigation

Soybeans are usually grown under rainfed conditions. If grown in summers, they require 5-6 irrigations.

Plant Protection

White fly, Tobacco caterpillar, Hairy caterpillar, Blister beetle are some pests that can attack soy crop, for protection from them, suitable pest control methods can be used.

Harvesting

Crop becomes mature and ready to be harvested when leaves turn yellow and pods get dry. Harvesting can be done by hands or by sickle or by threshing machine.

Soybean Production in India

Here are the details about soybean production in India in 2019.

Source- SOPA Databank

Madhya Pradesh is the highest Soybean growing state. During the last two years, Soybean has been grown in Madhya Pradesh in an area of about 4.4 million ha and production around 3.9 million tonnes with an average productivity of 796-885 kg/ha.

Threats/Constraints in Production of Soybean

1. Non availability of adequate amount of quality seeds of improved varieties.

2. Most of the area under soybean cultivation is dependent on rains.

3. Poor adoption of improved production technology.

4. Soybean seed is least storable and is vulnerable to mechanical storage.

5. Soil moisture stress at critical growth stages, especially seed-filling stage.

6. High temperature stress at critical growth stages.

7. Presence of anti-nutritional factors in soybean.

Where to Sell Soybean?

Here are some links given for online export of Soybeans.

https://www.eworldtrade.com/importers/soybean-buyer/

https://www.exportgenius.in/global-importers-of-soybean

https://connect2india.com/Soybean-importers

https://www.exportgenius.in/india-importers-of-soybean

This is all about the production of Soybean in India. For more information like this, stay connected…!!

Happy Farming…!!