SOYBEAN TECHNICAL

Introduction

Soybean (Glycine max L. Merril) posses a very high nutritional value. It contains about 20 per cent oil and 40 per cent high quality protein (as against 7.0 per cent in rice, 12 per cent in wheat, 10 per cent in maize and 20-25 per cent in other pulses). Soybean protein is rich in valuable amino acid - lycine (5%) in which most of the cereals are deficient. In addition, it contains a good amount of minerals, salts and vitamins (thiamine and riboflavin) and its sprouting grains contain a considerable amount of Vitamin C, Vitamin A is present in the form of precursor carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the intestine. A large number of Indian and western dishes such as bread, ‘chapati’, milk, sweets, pastries etc., can be prepared with soybean. Wheat flour fortified with soybean flour makes good quality and more nutritious ‘chapati’. Soybean oil is used for manufacturing vanaspati ghee and several other industrial products. Soybean is used for making high protein food for children. It is widely used in the industrial production of different antibiotics. Soybean builds up the soil fertility by fixing large amounts of atmospheric nitrogen through the root nodules, and also through leaf fall on the ground at maturity. It can be used as fodder; forage can be made into hay,silage

etc. Its forage and cake are excellent nutritive foods for livestock and poultry. Soybean being the richest, cheapest and easiest source of best quality proteins and fats and having a vast multiplicity of uses as food and industrial products is sometimes called a wonder crop.

 
Varieties

Although soybean has been grown in India in the low hills of Kumaon and Garhwal and regions of the Himalayas for ages, it failed to make any impact on Indian agriculture mainly because of poor acceptability of black seeded varieties, low yields and very long duration of maturity. In order to search for high yielding varieties, several hundred introduction from across the globe has been tested in India at several locations, primarily through the efforts of the All-India Co-ordinated Soybean Project. Research findings have shown that a number of American varieties actually performed better in India.

 
Varietal Improvement

According to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, ICAR, Government of India, in 1999-2000, following varieties of soybean have been identified or released. These new varieties are both high yielding as well as disease resistant.

  1. Soybean JS 90-41 has been released for cultivation in Madhya Pradesh. This is non- shattering type and has resistance to major diseases.
  2. Another variety VSL 47 has been identified for pre-release multiplication for hill areas. High protein (47%) lines were identified in back crosses of NRC 2 x Glycine soja.
  3. Bold-seeded (>16 g/100 seed) selections, retaining above 70% germination after 10 months of ambient storage were developed.
  4. Root: shoot weight ratio can be used as a selection criterion for drought resistance/tolerance.
  5. Shattering-prone varieties showed high activity of phenylalanine ammonialase (PAL), a key enzyme in secondary metabolism of the plant.
 
Crop Production

Planting soybean in the last week of June results in maximum yield and after 7 July causes reduction in seed yield @ 40 kg/ha/day. Cross sowing of soybean (Ahila 3) at 30 cm remarkably enhanced seed yield by 30-35% compared to 30 and 45 cm, normal planting.

 
Weed Management

Soybean is very sensitive to early weed competition. Weed infestation in soybean field may reduce yield by 40-45 per cent depending upon the intensity, nature, and the duration of weed competition. The annual grasses like Echinochloa colonum (sama), Dactyloctenium aegypticum (makra), Eleusine Indica (kodai), and Disistaria spp. are the major weed problems in soybean fields. Celosia argentia (safed murg) is the most important broad leaved weed. Cyperus rotundus (motha) Cynodon dactylon (doob grass) and Sorghum halepanse (banchari) are important among perennial weeds. To avoid competition during the early growth stages, soybean field should be kept free of weeds for the first 30-40 days after sowing. The crop smothers the weeds that emerge 30-40 days after sowing. Mechanical as well as chemical methods are adopted for control of weeds in soybean field. The mechanical methods include use of `Khurpi’, spade, hand hoe etc. Two manual weeding, 20 and 40-45 days after sowing are generally sufficient for control of weeds. Manual weeding accomplishes the job effectively, but it is a time consuming job and on a large scale it becomes difficult to control the weeds in time. Another problem is that during rainy season due to continuous rains weed control operation is not completed at the right time. Under such circumstances use of herbicides have been found very effective. According to DARE, deep summer ploughing, followed by pre-planting incorporation (Fluchloralin or Metolachlor @ 1 kg ai/ha or pendimethalin @ 1 kg ai/ha) weedicides and one dora or hoe 20-25 days after sowing are recommended. Alternatively, pre-emergence application of recommended weedicides at 50% level in packed sowing (row-to-row 22.5 cm) was recommended. Imazethapyr @ 75 to 100 g ai/ha and Propaquizafop @ 50 to 70 g ai/ha were found promising in controlling weeds after their emergence. The economic optimum levels of S for soybean PK 472 and MACS 58 range from 10.37 to 21.85 kg/ha.

 
 Disease Management
 Some of the important diseases that effect soybean are given below along with their recommended remedies:

Name of D iseases

Recommended Remedies

Seed, Seedling Rot Seed treatment with Thiram at the rate of 4.5 g per kg of seed will control effectively
Frog Eye Leaf Spot
  1. Use certified seed.
  2. Use resistant varieties.
Pod Blight or Anthracnose
  1. Spray Zineb at the rate of 2.5 kg per hectare in 1000 litres of water.
  2. Plant resistant varieties like Bragg.
Purple Seed Stain
  1. Use certified good quality seed.
  2. Seed treatment with fungicides like Thiram reduces the seedling losses.
Rust
  1. Grow resistant varieties like Alankar, Shilajit etc.
  2. Seed treatment with Vitavex (0.2%).
Yellow Mosaic
  1. Grow resistant varieties like Alankar, Shilajit etc.
  2. Use of regular insecticidal sprays e.g., Metasystox 25 EC at the rate of 1 kg per hectare in 1000 litres of water at 10 days intervals followed by rouging till crop is 75 days old is recommended.
 
Pests Management The following are some of the important pests that attack the soybean crop. Their recommended remedies are also mentioned.

Name of Pests Recommended Remedies
Stem Fly Apply Phorate 10% granules at the rate of 10 kg per hectare or Disystone 5% granules at the rate of 20 kg per hectare in soil before sowing.
Girdle Beetle Spray Thiodan 35 EC (Endosulfan) 0.05% or Dimethoate 30 EC 0.3% or Methyl demeton 30 EC 0.03% to control this pests.
Bihar Hairy Caterpillar Young caterpillars can be killed by dusting 0.4% Fenvelerate dust at the rate of 25-30 kg per hectare. For full grown caterpillars spray 1.5 litres of Thiodan 35 EC in 1000 litres of water per hectare or Ekalux 25 EC at the rate of 1 litre in 1000 litres of water per hectare.
Tobacco Caterpillar Same as for Bihar hairy caterpillar.
Semi Looper Spray crop either with phosphamidon at the rate of 250 ml per hectare in 1000 litres of water or Endosulfan 35 EC at the rate of 1 litre per hectare dissolved in 800 litres of water.
Leaf Roller Spray Thiodan 35 EC at the rate of 1 litre per hectare in 1000 litres of water or Ekalux 25 EC at the rate of 1.25 litres per hectare in 1000 litres of water.
Leaf Miner Similar to those in the case of leaf rollers.
Whitefly Spray a mixture of Malathion (0.1%) and Metasystox (0.1%) or a mixture of Thiodan (0.1%) and Metasystox (0.1%) on 20th, 30th, 40th and 50th day after sowing.

According to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, ICAR, Government of India, in 1999-2000 the following have been the latest development in the protection of the soybean crop from pests:

  1. NRC 37, JS (SH) 92-47, JS (SH) 92-73, DS 9801, MACS 569, MACS 629, MAUS 62, MAUS 63, NRC 41, PK 1223, PK 1225, PK 1228, PK 1229, TS 98-21 and UGM 47 were found tolerant to stem-fly (Melanagromyza sojae).
  2. Bio-pesticide B. bassiana @ 1 litre/ha before or after Triazophos spray (0.05%) was found effective in controlling major insect pests.
  3. Carbosulfan and lambda Cyhalothrin controlled girdle beetle. Lambda-Cyhalothrin, and combination insecticides Chlorpyrifos + Cypermethrin and Profenophos + Cypermethrin were found effective against larvae of green semiloopers.
  4. Seed treatment with Thiomethoxam 70 was @ 3 g/kg seed, and Carbosulfan 25 DS (@ 30 g/kg seed) controlled stem tunneling by stem-fly maggots.
  5. Rust resistant/tolerant genotypes are PK 1024, PK 1029, JS 80-21, JS 90-225.