CONTENTS
1. SOILS
2.SELECTING LAND
3. PREPARING LAND
4.SEED VARIETIES
5. INNOCULATION
6. PLANTING
7. FOLIAR FERTILIZERS
8. CROP MANAGEMENT
9. DEALING WITH WEEDS
10. HARVESTING.
SOILS
The type of soil and its content is an important aspect to consider for successful soya beans growing.
Soya beans needs a PH of 5.5 to 6.5. if your PH is outside that, then lime should be added to
neutralize your soils. Soil testing can be done at THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA, MOUNT
MAKURU(CHILANGA), KABWE. You can obtain further information from agricultural offices near
you.
Soils are tested for: ph , nitrogen , phosphorous , potassium , zinc , Boron , Sulphur , Molybdenum
(MO) , fulvic acid , calcium.
SELECTING LAND
• Select land with suitable PH levels
• Select land that can easily be prepared on time
• Select land which is not water logged
• Select land which is not too clay
• Select land with less stumps and roots to make ploughing easier.
PREPARING LAND
This is the act of getting your land ready. It involves
• Ploughing or digging
• Breaking the soils into smaller ones
• Leveling the land.
The main objective of land preparation is to necessitate easy germination and rop development.
Good land preparation is key to having a good harvest. There are several ways you might use to
prepare your land.
1. HUMAN LABOUR USING HOES
This involves the use of humans who manually till the land. Cost of labor charges are not
fixed and dependent on the agreement you make from the people you have contracted to
do the work for you.
2. THE USE OF CATTLE
You can use cattle to do the ploughing for you.
3. THE USE OF TRACTORS
If you are covering a lot of hectares, its advisable you use a tractor. Its fast and saves you on
time. Hiring a tractor might be more costly as compared to the other methods. ensure you
do your calculations well.
What good land preparation does for you.
• Reduces the weed competition for light and nutrients with your crop
• Improves soil, water and air conditions
• Loosens tight or compacted soils to allow air and rain water to penetrate easily
• Prevents soil erosion
• Land leveling increases yield to a great extent because it improves weed control
SEED VARIETIES
There are different types of seeds on the market. Its important you pick the best seed with the best
characteristics that suits your climatic environment.
Some key characteristics to look at to help you choose seed type are:
• Maturity period
• Resistance to diseases
• Shuttering period
Note: there are specific seed varieties that perform better in certain locations. It’s important you get
this information from seed manufacturing brands, as they will advise you best which variety is likely
to do well in your area.
INNOCULATION
This is the process in which you dress the seed until its fully coated with inoculant. Inoculant
contains a bacterium which helps fix nitrogen in the soils. Seeds planted while coated with inoculant
perform better in terms of yield as compared to those without inoculant.
STEP BY STEP PROCESS DURING INNOCULATION
• be in the shade away from direct sunlight
• spread a tent or sack down. Empty the soya beans seed on the tent
• open the inoculant pack and prepare your sticker
• add the inoculant with the sticker to the seed
• gently mix the seed and inoculant until every seed is coated with inoculant
• wait 15 – 30 minutes for the seed to dry
• seed is now ready to be planted.
NOTE: FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS THAT ARE WRITTEN ON THE INNOCULANT PACKAGE. READ
THEM AND APPLY THEM
PLANTING
This is the process of putting the seeds in the soil and allowing them to germinate. For soya beans,
there are certain things to consider.
Seed rate for a hector is 100kg. planting time is November and December.
SPACING: between the plants the space is 5cm. between the rows its 45cm.
DEPTH: soya beans should not be planted more than 5cm deep.
PLANTING TEMPERATURE: 15 – 30 degrees. Target to plant at sunrise.
FERTILIZERS
There are two types of fertilizers to use for soya beans namely basal fertilizer and foliar fertilizer.
Basal is grain while foliar is liquid. Basal is used at planting stage. Use soya mix A as basal fertilisers.
For foliar fertilizers , it has to be sprayed to the leaves of the crop.
CROP MANAGEMENT
This is the aspect of taking care of your soya beans once it germinates. The crop will need your
attention. You have to notice what is happening at every stage and act accordingly. Some key
practices you can choose to apply:
• don’t handle soya beans when its wet or has dew. This spreads fungus
• keep the plant bed weed free
• cultivate around the crop carefully.do not disturb the shallow roots
• regularly check the leaves for any attack
• spray fungicides or pesticides when needed.
WEED CONTROL
Weeds will compete with the crop for sunlight and nutrients which would cause a deficiency to your
crop and affect their yield. They might also suffocate the growth of the crop. Therefore its important
you keep your field weed free. This is attained by using
• hoe (manual means)
• chemicals (Herbicides ). Use both selective and non selective weed killers to curb the weeds.
Non selective weed killers must be used before planting or after planting. Follow instructions
on the package of the weed killer. Selective weed killers are used after the crop has grown
and reached the knee level.dont spray the leaves of the soya beans while spraying selective
weed killers. Selective kills everything else(weeds) except the soya beans while non selective
kills everything that’s why it must be used before planting or after planting according to the
instructions.
HARVESTING
Harvesting should be done when 85 – 90% of your crop looks golden brown.
