You may already have substantial information from official sources about soybeans, their use in food and livestock production, and their role in improving soil fertility. However, due to the lack of localized guidance on achieving high soybean yields in our country, we present brief but essential recommendations for your attention. Soybean (Glycine hispida L.) is an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the Fabaceae (legume) family. It is a warm-season, short-day crop with varieties that differ in growing period, pod and leaf size, plant structure, and seed size and shape. Soybeans are unparalleled among crops in the farming system due to their diverse uses. Their seeds are exceptionally valuable, containing 28–55% protein rich in high-quality amino acids—comparable to meat, milk, and eggs—alongside 18–27% ecologically pure vegetable oil, 20% carbohydrates, and a variety of essential minerals and vitamins.
How to cultivate soybeans as a main crop using high-yielding local varieties?
Predecessors: The best predecessors for soybeans are early-harvested winter cereals, corn, as well as annual and perennial grasses and fertilized fallow land. Soybeans should not be planted repeatedly in the same field without a minimum two-year gap, as continuous cultivation significantly reduces yield.
Fertilization: Before plowing, apply 10–15 tons of manure and 100 kg each of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers per hectare in soils with low organic matter. Apply 20–30 kg of nitrogen before sowing, 10–15 kg NPK during sowing, and 30–50 kg of phosphorus fertilizer once or twice during the growing period. If nitragin (a nitrogen-fixing inoculant) is not used, 100–150 kg of nitrogen per hectare is required. However, overuse of nitrogen fertilizers should be avoided.
Sowing: Sowing time depends on soil temperature and moisture, the variety's biological traits, and field weediness. In early springs, sowing can begin in late April, or in wet years, in May. As a secondary crop, soybeans can be planted in fields vacated after winter cereals. Use wide-row sowing with 60–70 cm spacing between rows and a seeding rate of 300,000–500,000 viable seeds per hectare, at a depth of 3–5 cm.
Crop care: Inter-row cultivation is done after full sprouting, followed by a second cultivation 15–20 days later to a depth of 6–8 cm. Soil moisture should be maintained at 65–70% before flowering, 75–80% during flowering and pod filling, and 60–65% during maturation. Irrigation is typically performed 4–5 times with 800–850 m³/ha of water each time, ending after pod filling. If plant growth is poor, apply 10–15% more fertilizer than the annual norm or use foliar feeding in suspension form. Seasonal control of pests, diseases, and weeds is mandatory, using both biological methods and government-approved chemical agents.
Harvesting: Soybeans are harvested using combines such as Don-1500, Claas, SK-5, Case, and SKD-6. For late-maturing varieties, desiccation (artificial drying) is used to accelerate ripening, applying 20 kg of magnesium chlorite or 3 liters of Reglan per hectare when pods reach 45–55% maturity. Use 100 liters per hectare of working solution. Seeds are cleaned and sorted using machines like OC-4.5A Super-Petkus and CM-4. The moisture content of harvested seeds should not exceed 14%.
In conclusion, cultivating soybeans offers the following benefits:
Enhances food security by supplying nutritious products for the population and livestock;
Provides livestock and poultry with high-protein, quality feed;
Supplies domestic oil factories with affordable, quality raw materials, prolonging their operations and reducing the need for imported oil;
Improves soil fertility and supports short-term crop rotation systems in agriculture.
Faculty of Agromechanics and Agrotechnology,
Department of Crop Science and Oilseeds
Associate Professor, PhD in Agricultural Sciences – I.A. Israilov
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