What are Soya Beans?
The soybean, soybean, or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses.
Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and tofu skin are made.
How To Grow Soya Beans In Zambia
Land preparation and seed selection
There are different methods you can use to prepare the land. Mechanical involves plowing with a tractor and harrowing.
The manual method involves using a hoe to manually clear the land. You can also use animal plows to prepare the land.
Inoculation
The next step is to innoculate your soybean seeds. This is a crucial step that needs to be taken seriously in soya beans production if you want to have a good yield.
Planting Soya beans
Plant your soybeans within the month of December. Delayed planting can lead to a lower yield, while very early planting may lead to poor seedling establishment.
You can either plant in ridges or on flat land. Spacing should be 30-35cm between lines and 5cm between plants. Plant your seeds 2.5cm deep.
Fertilizing Soybeans
The fertilizer for soya beans is predominantly phosphate. You don’t need nitrogen especially if you’ve inoculated soybeans.
Place your fertilizer 2.5cm away from the plant (you planted it 5cm apart so that’s in the middle).
Managing weeds
Weeds are any undesirable plants growing in your field and will compete with your soybeans for nutrients.
Harvesting Soybeans
Soya beans mature at 90 – 100 days. At this time it’s ready to be pulled out of the field. Soybeans should be harvested as soon as it matures to avoid loss of yield through shattering.
How long does a soya bean take to grow?
Flowering starts 50 to 60 days after sowing (20 to 35cm height) and continues through to between 80 to 120cm.
The crop reaches physiological maturity 140 days after sowing.
How much is a 50 kg bag of soya beans in Zambia?
Make your orders for empty used bags. 50kg going at k4. 50n and 25kg k2. 5n.
Which is the best soya bean seed in Zambia?
SC Spike (Indeterminate) SC Spike is the best-performing Soya bean variety in Zambia, which gives you enough time to harvest.
What is the best fertilizer for soybeans?
Soybeans can use environmental nitrogen, but not enough. Therefore, the crop is provided 10-15% of the total nitrogen requirement.
25 kg nitrogen per acre and 60 kg phosphorus per acre is sufficient. And potash is needed only when there is a shortage.