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Lesson
06 of 15

🌾 Soybean Production Technology

Complete guide to soybean cultivation covering the Golden Bean's importance, varieties, Rhizobium inoculation, weed management, IPM, and harvest practices in Madhya Pradesh and India.

This lesson summarizes practical soybean production from variety and seed treatment to nutrient management, weed control, and harvest economics in Indian conditions.

Importance of Soybean

Soybean (Glycine max) is known as the "Golden Bean" and is one of the most nutritionally complete crops in the world. India is the 4th largest producer of soybean globally. Key nutritional profile:

  • Oil content: 18–20%
  • Protein content: 38–42% (highest among field crops)
  • Rich in essential amino acids (though methionine is limiting)
  • Contains isoflavones (phytoestrogens) with nutraceutical value

Madhya Pradesh is called the "Soya State" — it accounts for approximately 60% of India's soybean area and production. Soybean is the principal Kharif oilseed of central India. Global soybean production is dominated by Brazil, USA, and Argentina.

Botanical Classification

  • Scientific name: Glycine max (L.) Merrill
  • Family: Leguminosae (Fabaceae)
  • Chromosome number: 2n = 40
  • Pollination: Self-pollinated (cleistogamous flowers; <1% cross-pollination)
  • Bushy annual; determinate or indeterminate stem; trifoliate leaves; white or purple flowers
  • Pods hairy (distinguishing feature)

Climate Requirements

  • Temperature: 28–35°C optimum during vegetative; 20–25°C during grain fill
  • Rainfall: 600–850 mm uniformly distributed; sensitive to drought at flowering and pod fill
  • Frost-free days: 125–135 required for full-season varieties
  • Photoperiod: Short-day plant — promotes flowering under photoperiods <13 hours; many varieties are photoperiod-sensitive, limiting their adaptation range
  • Waterlogging: Poor tolerance — excess standing water even for 2–3 days causes severe yield loss

Soil Requirements

  • Soil type: Well-drained medium to heavy loam; black cotton soils of MP are ideal
  • pH: 6.0–7.5 (neutral preferred)
  • Avoid waterlogged, compacted, or very sandy soils
  • Adequate organic matter (>0.8%) improves nodulation and yield

Varieties

Early-Maturing (95–100 days)

  • JS-335: Most popular soybean variety in India; widely adapted to MP, Maharashtra, Rajasthan; medium-to-bold seed; photoperiod-sensitive
  • JS-95-60: Short duration; suitable for late-sowing conditions

Medium Duration (100–110 days)

  • NRC-37: ICAR-NRCS, Indore; good yield; disease-tolerant
  • DS-228: Maharashtra-adapted; medium maturity

Late Duration (>110 days)

  • JS-9752: JNKVV, Jabalpur; high yield potential under optimum conditions
  • MAUS-71: Marathwada Agricultural University; Maharashtra-adapted

Narrow Row/High-Yielding

  • JS-20-34: JNKVV, Jabalpur; most recently recommended; suitable for 30 cm row spacing; lodging resistant; semi-determinate

Seed Rate and Treatment

  • Seed rate: 70–80 kg/ha
  • Seed treatment sequence:
    1. Fungicide: Thiram 2g + Carbendazim 1g per kg seed
    2. Rhizobium japonicum (strain HAN-4 or USDA-110): 10 g per kg seed; coat with jaggery solution adhesive; use fresh culture (<6 months old)
    3. PSB (Phosphate Solubilising Bacteria): 10 g/kg seed
    4. Trichoderma harzianum: 4g/kg seed (after Rhizobium)
  • Rhizobium inoculant effectiveness depends on soil temperature, moisture, and absence of broad-spectrum insecticides

Sowing

  • Recommended period: June 20 – July 15 (Kharif)
  • Delayed sowing beyond July 15 reduces yield significantly due to shortened season
  • Spacing: 30 cm between rows (narrow row spacing is now recommended for JS-20-34); 4–5 cm between plants
  • Sowing depth: 2–3 cm; shallow depth ensures rapid germination in warm soil
  • Good soil moisture at sowing essential for uniform germination

Nutrient Management

  • Recommended NPK: 30:80:40 kg/ha
  • Rhizobium fixes 80–120 kg N/ha under well-nodulated conditions; starter N (30 kg/ha) is applied basally only
  • Basal application: Full P, K, starter N before sowing (plough-down)
  • Molybdenum (Na₂MoO₄): Seed treatment at 1–2 g/kg seed; essential cofactor for nitrogenase enzyme in Rhizobium nodules; enhances nitrogen fixation
  • Sulphur: 20–25 kg/ha as gypsum or SSP; critical for protein synthesis and amino acid composition
  • Avoid excessive N application — suppresses nodulation

Water Management

  • Soybean has poor waterlogging tolerance
  • Ensure adequate field drainage (broad-bed furrow system in black soils)
  • Critical stages: Flowering (R1-R2) and pod fill (R3-R6)
  • Avoid field flooding even temporarily — causes root hypoxia, nodule death, yield loss
  • Deficit irrigation (1–2 supplemental irrigations) at flowering and pod fill can significantly increase yield in dry years

Weed Management

Soybean is one of the most weed-sensitive crops in India — soybean-tobacco weed nexus is a critical constraint in MP.

  • Critical weed competition period: First 30–40 DAS
  • Chemical weed control:
    • Metribuzin 0.5 kg ai/ha as pre-emergence (PRE) — controls grasses and broad-leaved weeds
    • Fenoxaprop-p-ethyl (Puma Super) 60g ai/ha as post-emergence (POST) at 20 DAS — controls narrow-leaved weeds selectively
    • Chlorimuron-ethyl 9 g/ha POST for broad-leaved weed control
  • 2 inter-cultivations at 20 and 35 DAS for mechanical weed control
  • Narrow row sowing (30 cm) helps canopy closure faster, reducing weed light interception

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Major Pests

  • Soybean Stem Fly (Melanagromyza sojae): Larvae mine into stem; wilting; seed treatment with Imidacloprid reduces damage; early sowing avoids peak fly pressure
  • Pod Borer (Maruca vitrata): Bores into pods; Chlorantraniliprole or Indoxacarb
  • Tobacco caterpillar (Spodoptera litura): Defoliator; NPV + Quinalphos; FNPV-Sl

Major Diseases

Disease Pathogen Management
Soybean mosaic virus SMV (seed-borne) Certified disease-free seed
Bacterial pustule Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines Copper oxychloride; avoid overhead irrigation
Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) Fusarium virguliforme Seed treatment with Fluopyram; avoid compaction
Sclerotinia stem rot Sclerotinia sclerotiorum Carbendazim; crop rotation; deep summer ploughing
Rhizoctonia aerial blight Rhizoctonia solani Validamycin; avoid high canopy humidity

Harvesting

  • Duration: 95–135 days depending on variety (JS-335: ~100 days; MAUS-71: ~110 days)
  • Harvest indicators: 95% pods turn yellow/brown; leaves fall; moisture ~18–20%
  • Combine harvesting is practical — soybean plants stand erect and pods are not easily shattered
  • Cutter bar must be set close to ground (3–4 cm) to minimize pod losses
  • Hand harvesting + threshing on tarpaulin for small farms

Yield Potential

  • Average national yield: 2.0–2.5 t/ha
  • Under improved management (JS-20-34 with narrow rows): 3.0–3.5 t/ha
  • Yield gap is large — farmers' average yield is ~1.2 t/ha in MP vs potential 2.5+ t/ha

Major Soybean-Growing States — Summary Table

State Area (Mha) Production (MT) Popular Variety
Madhya Pradesh 5.5 6.0 JS-335, JS-20-34
Maharashtra 3.5 3.5 JS-335, MAUS-71
Rajasthan 1.0 1.0 JS-335, NRC-37
Karnataka 0.4 0.4 MAUS-71, DS-228
Telangana 0.3 0.3 NRC-37

Summary Cheat Sheet

Area Key Exam Point
Nutritional value Soybean is high-protein and major kharif oilseed
Critical operations Rhizobium inoculation, weed-free early growth, timely harvest
Production hub Madhya Pradesh is India’s core soybean belt

References

2 sources • [1] [2]

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