How did soybeans perform in this year's autumn grain production?
Editor's Note
The most important task in adjusting the planting structure right now is to reduce the corn planting area, while soybeans, as one of the main categories of food ingredients that symbolize a moderately prosperous diet culture, are one of the main subjects of "increase." This year, the Northeast region reduced corn by more than 30 million mu and increased soybean area by more than 6 million mu, moving toward balanced development of corn and soybeans. In mid-May, when sowing was busy in the Northeast, this edition's "Planting Structure Adjustment: Soybean Chapter" focused on some of the changes in this year's soybean production.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the autumn harvest is busy, and the big stage of autumn grain is about to begin. Major soybean-producing areas are successively entering the harvest period. How is soybean growth now, and what matters should be noted going forward? Let us turn our attention to this once again.
Heilongjiang soybeans should be harvested in a timely manner at the first frost
In 2016, soybeans in Heilongjiang Province showed a trend of recovery and growth, with the sown area increasing by nearly 20% compared with 2015, an increase of more than 6.5 million mu. The soybean planting structure was also dominated by high-protein food-use varieties, soymilk beans, sprouting beans, and high-yield high-oil soybeans, with differences depending on the ecological zone.
This year's climatic conditions affected soybean growth to varying degrees. Luan Xiaoyan, a researcher at the Soybean Institute of the Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, introduced that from May to June there was low temperature and abundant rain, and sowing dates in the eastern Sanjiang Plain were delayed by 10-20 days; in the central and southern regions, because rainfall in June was relatively heavy, soybeans grew excessively, with plant height 10-20 cm taller than usual. From July to August, the whole province suffered drought, and soybeans shed flowers and pods, which affected seed filling in medium-early maturing varieties but had little effect on late-maturing varieties. In the western and northern regions, drought persisted after sowing, and the Qiqihar region suffered severe drought, with soybeans only 30-40 cm tall. Although heavy rain at the end of August alleviated the drought across the province, typhoons caused severe lodging of soybeans in the eastern region. Luan Xiaoyan reminded growers that this autumn in Heilongjiang precipitation will be slightly more than usual and temperatures slightly higher than usual, and the first frost in most parts of the province will be slightly later than in recent years, which is favorable for soybean production, and attention should be paid to timely harvesting and drying of soybeans.
This year the state carried out macro-control on corn planting in the "sickle bend" region. The corn area of the Heilongjiang Agricultural Reclamation Jiusan Administration dropped sharply, while the soybean area rebounded substantially. The administration's soybean planting area reached 2.27 million mu, the largest planting area in history.
At the end of April and the beginning of May this year, the weather was relatively good, and soybean sowing proceeded normally without being affected. However, from mid-to-late May onward, continuous low temperatures and rain occurred, which had a certain impact on soybean emergence, generally delaying emergence by 2-3 days. Entering July, precipitation was abnormally low. According to statistics, the administration's average precipitation in July-August was 50.4 mm, 199.7 mm less than the 250.1 mm of the same period in normal years, the lowest for the same period in history, which affected soybean growth. The growth process was relatively slow, about one week later than usual, with more flower and pod shedding and less dry matter accumulation. Even among those that could form seeds, the 100-seed weight was relatively low, resulting in low yields.
Facing severe drought, the administration took multiple measures and actively adopted various methods for drought relief and self-rescue, striving to reduce drought losses. It made full use of all drought-relief water sources and facilities and equipment, scientifically dispatched and utilized all water sources, maximized the role of water conservancy projects, and further expanded the irrigated area. Because drought can easily lead to soybean diseases and insect pests, the plant protection station of the Jiusan Administration strengthened monitoring and forecasting of diseases and insect pests, organized prevention and control in advance, scientifically formulated control prescriptions, and promptly released plant protection information services to prevent major outbreaks of diseases and insect pests, reduce the formation of secondary disasters, and prevent new losses. At the same time, according to weather station forecasts, it seized the few rainfall events and timely carried out intertillage and deep loosening of soybean fields before the rain to store water and preserve soil moisture, maximizing the increase in soil water content. To ensure that soybeans matured normally before frost, aircraft aerial application was used to carry out early-maturing promotion operations across the entire soybean area. At the same time, materials needed for the autumn harvest and "three autumns" work were prepared in advance, with high standards and high quality, and the inspection and modification of agricultural machinery and tools were completed. In particular, for soybeans with relatively short plant height, modification of harvesters was to be completed in advance to ensure soybean harvest quality and reduce losses.
Jiang Mingming, director of the Agriculture Bureau of the Jiusan Administration, said that only by implementing effective measures and continuing to carry out scientific drought relief can disaster losses be reduced. The Jiusan Administration required all efforts to actively promote water-saving irrigation technologies such as sprinkler irrigation and drip irrigation. On plots with slightly better soil conditions, point irrigation and hole irrigation technologies were to be promoted and applied. It was necessary to make full use of existing water sources and accelerate the development of new water source projects, striving to improve the guarantee capacity of drought-relief water sources.
In the process of drought relief, according to soil conditions, loamy soil should be dealt with first, followed by sandy soil. Loamy soil has good soil conditions and great yield-increasing potential, and should be the focus of drought relief; according to plot conditions, high-yield plots with good emergence and plots with small yield reduction should be dealt with first, followed by low-yield plots with poor emergence and plots with large yield reduction; according to disaster conditions, critical cases should be dealt with first, followed by total crop failure. According to irrigation measures, sprinkler irrigation should be used first, followed by flood irrigation. Sprinkler irrigation requires less input and is much better than flood irrigation; wherever sprinkler irrigation can be used, it must be used.
Strengthen late-stage soybean management. While doing a good job in drought relief, implement comprehensive measures such as agricultural measures to effectively promote a bumper grain harvest. For plots that have been irrigated, when crop growth tends to return to normal, foliar fertilizer should be sprayed by aerial application as soon as possible to promote the crop growth process and increase crop yield.
Both yellow soybeans and edamame have "profit potential"
On September 9, entering the soybean base of the Huachun Vegetable Planting Professional Cooperative in Tangma Town, Yutai County, Shandong Province, the harvest period was approaching, and farmers were still busy loosening the soil for soybeans. "The weather has been rather dry recently. Loosen the soil and give the bean seedlings another boost. Early growth was very good, and we cannot relax in this final stretch." Yan Weihua, chairman of the cooperative, who was standing in the field guiding production, said, "This year's bean price is sure to be good. Several groups of buyers have already come to place orders."
"Yutai is close to Nansi Lake, with distinct seasons, fertile soil, abundant rain, and sufficient sunlight, suitable for soybean growth, and farmers generally prefer to grow soybeans," introduced Liu Yong, head of the vegetable station of the Yutai County Agriculture Bureau. This year, during the soybean pod-setting and seed-filling period, Yutai had abundant precipitation, and with effective prevention and control of diseases and insect pests, soybean growth was better than in previous years.
"Soybeans are planted in July and harvested at the end of September. Before planting, choose fields with fertile soil, deep tillable soil layers, and easy drainage and irrigation; when preparing the land, make the soil loose on top and firm below, deep plow and then harrow carefully once more, break up clods, and make the soil surface fine, crumbly, and level, and water and spray pesticides frequently." Yan Weihua said that this year he planted 25 mu of "Dabaipi," and expected an average yield of more than 400 jin per mu. At present, the grains look plump, imperfect grains are reduced, and quality is better than last year.
Speaking of the benefits of growing yellow soybeans, Yan Weihua said: "Growing 1 mu of yellow soybeans requires 8 jin of seed, and each mu yields about 400 jin. At present, the market price of yellow soybeans is 2.05 yuan per jin. After deducting the cost of 180 yuan, the net income from 1 mu of yellow soybeans is about 650 yuan. Moreover, the soybean growing period is only about two months, so this income is better than growing wheat and corn."
Of course, there are also places where it is more troublesome than growing grain crops: first, soybean field management is relatively meticulous; second, it is necessary to ensure that the local area has an industrial foundation and that buyers purchase in a timely manner.
At the grain planting professional cooperative located in Chenlou Village, Luotun Town, Yutai County, chairman Chen Zhixin led many members in growing edamame. "The cooperative provides improved seeds to members free of charge, with unified planting, unified technical guidance, unified fertilization, and other services, and finally buys back at a price 2 mao per jin higher than the market price. Calculated this way, one mu requires less labor than growing ordinary soybeans, and income is more than 200 yuan higher," villager Chen Yunhe told reporters.
"We follow an order-based model, with contract prices, thus reducing planting risks," Chen Zhixin said. "The cooperative extends the industrial chain and has established a processing plant to vacuum-pack edamame, which not only extends the product shelf life but also directly connects with supermarkets, e-commerce, and other platforms, giving us our own sales channels."
Chen Zhixin acknowledged that although growing edamame is more profitable than yellow soybeans, farmers should not blindly follow the trend. This is because edamame has high requirements in both collection, storage, and sales. If farmers do not rely on cooperatives or large distributors and cannot sell edamame in a timely manner, it may lead to "all work in vain."
Speaking of this year's bean price, everyone was relatively optimistic. Liu Yong said that as mid-autumn approaches, many grain and oil enterprises are stepping up efforts to seize high-quality bean sources, and soybean purchase demand continues to rise, which is bound to continue driving soybean prices up. This year, Yutai's soybean planting area was more than 20,000 mu, and output value was expected to reach more than 16 million yuan.
23 mu of edamame earned 60,000 yuan
"I planted 23 mu of soybeans and sold them as edamame. When they came to market in mid-July, I earned 60,000 yuan, with gross income of about 3,000 yuan per mu. It is higher than growing cotton and wheat, and the input cost is not much. This variety takes effect quickly and consumers love to eat it, so I plan to plant more next year," said Chen Zhilin, a farmer from the 29th Regiment of **Korla City, happily on September 7.
"If I had not adjusted the planting structure in time and switched to soybeans, I would probably be begging by now!" Chen Zhilin said. In previous years, he grew cotton and suffered losses year after year. The whole family ate up their savings, and life depended entirely on relief. During the "Winter of Science and Technology" learning activity held by the trade union of the 29th Regiment, he was encouraged to go out and learn from others and chose to switch to soybeans. In just a few months, he escaped poverty.
Since coming to market, the market price of fresh edamame has reached as high as 8 yuan per kg and as low as 4 yuan per kg, averaging around 6 yuan. With a yield of 500 kg of fresh edamame per mu, income exceeded 3,000 yuan, and after deducting costs, net earnings were more than 2,000 yuan.
"In the first year without planting cotton, I had no experience growing other crops. When spring came, I watched others switch to other crops, not planting cotton but growing large melons, seed-use zucchini, sugar beets, licorice, corn, and so on. I could not make up my mind for a while. It was still the regiment trade union cadres who gave me ideas and made me determined to grow soybeans." Speaking of making money from growing soybeans, Chen Zhilin opened up.
Within two days, he borrowed 30,000 yuan from the rural credit cooperative and purchased the Ministry of Agriculture agricultural achievement transformation fund high-yield high-oil soybean "Zhonghuang 35."
One week before sowing, he made a special trip to learn from high-yield growers. He hauled 30 tons of decomposed farmyard manure and loosened, plowed, harrowed, and rotary-tilled the land, with deep loosening depth reaching 40 cm, making the land clean with no stubble, level with no trenches, and the soil fine with no clods. On the day of sowing, he also invited agricultural technicians to guide on site and measured the temperature 5 cm below the surface. Mechanical precision dibbling was adopted, ensuring uniform seed placement without breaks, consistent soil covering, and no exposed seeds. From 3-4 days after sowing and before emergence, 150 ml of 40% acetochlor emulsifiable concentrate per mu was mixed with 50 kg of water for closed soil spraying to control weed occurrence at the seedling stage.
From early flowering to full flowering, 50 g of 15% paclobutrazol powder per mu was mixed with 30 kg of water and sprayed evenly to effectively control soybean vegetative growth, enhance reproductive growth, thicken stems, preserve flowers and pods, increase seeds and weight, and promote early maturity. Comprehensive control was carried out by installing insect-attracting lamps, inserting yellow boards, and spraying biological agents. Chen Zhilin said: "In the cultivation technology for full-process management, I did not use herbicides, but instead hoed weeds 5 times by hand. These several hoeings successfully avoided the drought and promoted soybean root growth."
In July, when the maturity season arrived, people from near and far praised the soybeans he grew for being plump, good in color, and high-yielding, and they also asked him to pass on planting techniques.
In recent years, the Second Division of the **Production and Construction Corps has organically combined the development of the high-quality soybean industry with the advancement of poverty alleviation, taking the soybean industry as an important lever for precisely escaping poverty and "shaking off the poor hat." It adopted a "regiment farm + cooperative + poor farmer households + market" approach, and by expanding planting scale and providing production technology free of charge, promoted the stable development of the soybean industry. This year, the Second Division planted more than 20,000 mu of soybeans, increasing per capita income by more than 4,000 yuan, laying a solid foundation for expanding production next year and achieving precise poverty alleviation.