How to Grow Soybeans? Detailed Guide to Planting Methods and Key Techniques

Soybean is one of China's important grain crops, with a cultivation history of five thousand years, known as "shu" in ancient times. How can you grow soybeans for a high yield?

1. Land Preparation and Fertilization

Plow as deep as possible. Soybeans do not need many nutrients, so when preparing the land, just spread an appropriate amount of farmyard manure as base fertilizer.

2. Sowing and Seedling Raising

Dig holes at a spacing of thirty to fifty cm per plant, place the seeds into each hole, cover with a thin layer of soil, and water an appropriate amount to promote soybean seed germination.

3. Field Management

Carry out one round of intertillage and weeding plus fertilization for the soybeans, and water once at the same time. For this fertilization, generally use a mix of compound fertilizer and urea.

4. Disease Prevention

Soybeans are most likely to show symptoms during the flowering and pod-setting period, so in order not to reduce yield, protective measures should be taken to preserve the flowers and pods of the soybeans; generally, dimethoate emulsion is used for spraying.

5. Timely Harvesting

Soybeans do not mature uniformly, so special attention must be paid when harvesting. Generally, when most of the pods on the soybean plants have gradually turned yellow-green and feel fairly hard when touched by hand, they can be harvested. After harvesting, they need to be dried in the sun, and finally threshed. After threshing, there will be a lot of debris; once the debris is cleaned out, the process is complete.

Northeast China is the main soybean-producing region, and its seeds are a crop rich in plant protein. Soybeans are most commonly used to make various soy products, press soybean oil, brew soy sauce, and extract protein.