THE SOYA BEAN

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 23 May 1936, Page 4

THE SOYA BEAN

ITS ATTRIBUTES AND USES POSSIBILITIES ON NELSON FARMS GUIDE TO CULT I NATION OF THE OK OP A number of fanners are at present evincing considerable interest in tlie soya bean stated Dr. D. L. Freeman, ci the Nelson branch of the New Zealand Department of Agriculture, to a "Mail” representative to-day. He considered that adequate investigations might be systematically conducted on Nelson farms with the object of fully establishing the value of the crop in the district’s farm economy. Whether the crop would become popular would depend mainly upon the market for the product and also upon whether the bean proved more productive or more lucrative’tlam certain other crops which were at present cultivated locally. IN THE ORIENT The bean had been grown on an extensive scale in the Orient whore it was utilised as n food for human eonsttmp tion. It wa s cultivated successfully in Manchuria, or Maiichukuo as it is now to be called, which country, it is stated inis a severe winter season which is followed by a short, warm, and humid summer.

The soya bean has also become prominent among (tops grown in the Umtjd States of America, where it Las been cultivated both as a seed and also as a forage crop. The crop lias also been cultivated successfully m Australia. It will interest many farmers to learn that it was not altogether a strange plant to New Zealand as it was. under observation in the Dominion over twenty years ago in both the Taranaki and Auckland Provinces. CROP RECOMMENDED EXPERIMENTALLY It was possible that certain varieties of the bean might succeed in Nelson, but at present it was recommended that the cron should he grown only by way of trial. Tile behaviour of different varieties of the bean was worthy of full investigation. Besides its being utilised for the purposes already referred to, tho hc-an was also grown for its oil of which substance the seeds contained an appreciable proportion. About 100 lbs of beans might contain in the vicinity of 171bs of this substance. Soya bean cake was also valued for the feeding of farm live stock. The crop should still be regarded as in the experimental stage within the Dominion and the following information would serve to guide any farmers who might contemplate the cultivation of a trial area of what may he regarded as a remarkable legume. WIDE RANGE OF VARIETIES There is a wide range of varieties, of the plant; these include early and late kinds and also varieties with differentlycoloured seeds, yellow black and otliei colours. The plants may vary from two feet to several feet in height. The bean plant possesses an upright habit of growth with a tendency to produce vines in some varieties. On account of tlie nature of the season in Nelson and the habits of the plant it- is anticipated that the earlier maturing varieties are likely to prove the most successful, those which are capable of attaining maturity in a growing season of short duration. Late varieties were not likely to reach a stage of full development under Nelson’s climatic conditions. The plant should he regarded as in the case of maize or tobacco, as of a more or less tropical character. Mikado and Ito San, two yellow-seeded varieties and Auburn a black-seded variety, yielded well in connection with sowings made at the Moumaliaki experimental farm in Taranaki some years ago. Mikado grew to a height of 29 inches and yielded at the rate of 28 bushels an acre. The variety Auburn, attained a height of 46 inches and produced at the rate of 45 bushels an acre. The stems of Ito San reached a length of 27 inches, and the plants yielded .at the rate of 38 bushels an acre. A number of other promising or proven varieties of the plant are considered worthy of trial locally.

SOIL FOR SOYA BEANS Soya, beans will succeed on a variety of soils. Mellow loams which are sulhciently .(rallied and wnieh arc m good heart may be. regarded as especially suitable let tno ciop. The soil for the crop snould be deep and thoroughly cultivated, and m a mellow and line condition at the time the seeds are sown. Tile soil for soya beans should be appropriately fertilised. For large areas of Nelson soils a dressing of superphosphate .done at the rate of approximately two hundredweight an acre should prove setisiactory. On certain soils a mixture of superphosphate and carbonate ct lm.e mixed in equal projiort'ous and applied at the rate of o to 4 cwr an acre snould also prove entirely suitable. Tile seeds ol soya beans should be sown when the soil has become sufficiently warm in the spring and when all danger of frosts are past, as in the case of maize. SEED SHOULD NOT BE SOWN TOO EARLY It is not advisable to sow the seeds in a soil which is too cold and too moist, or germination of the seed and the vigour of the young plants may suffer unnecessarily. II planted in a cold and too wet soil the seeds of soya means may even decay. If grown for seed the height to whicn the particular varieties attain will influence the distance at which the seed is sown. For the shorter varieties, a distance of about two feet apart between the rows and about 3 inches between the plants ill the row, has been found satisfactory. Tallergrowing varieties may be cultivated in rows about 3 l’eet apart and about three or four inches between t\.i individual plants in the rows. At the rate of from about 251 bs seed and upwards may i required an acre. Drilling the seed at different specific distances is considered worthy of a trial in respect to crop yields under Nelson conditions. The land for soya beans should he kept as free as possible from weed-growth as the presence of too many weeds may considerably interfere with the success of the plant. Thorough intercultivation of the crop at appropriate intervals during growth will have the effect of suppressing weeds and will also ventilate the soil and improve tile conditions for the crop in every possible way. CAREFUL HANDLING DURING HARVESTING Soya beans arc considered ready for harvesting when the pods begin to ripen. The crop may then he cut or pulled atul subsequently made into very ,small cocks to cure. It will be realised that during harvesting operations it is essen.

tial that the crop should be subjected to very careful handling owing to the risk of losing more seed than is desirable prior tc stacking and thre-shmg. Besides the cultivation of the plant for seed soya beans may be grown also for forage. With reference to this branch of cultivation however, it is recommended that only small areas should at first be grown with a view to the farmers ascertaining whether they would prefer the plant for stock-feeding to flu already popular crops. The crop is made into silage. Maize and soya beans may be grown separately and mixed when placed in the silo wiJi satisfactory results. The question of the inoculation of the land by means ot bacteria in connection with the cultivation of soya beaus requires to be carefully studied with a. view to observing how far this procedure may be desirable in the production of the crop, in connection with this circumstance it has been observed that the plant has succeeded in New Zealand when bac-teria-containing nodules on the loots ot the plant have been absent The soya bean owes its value as a food m a large measure to the liberal propoitions of oil, albumenoid, and other compounds, which the seeds contain. ANALYSES OF BEANS AND CAKE It is noteworthy that soya bpans which have been analysed have revealed the following contents: • . /o ■ . 10.41 Moisture 17 . 47 Albuminous compounds 40.50 Starch, digestible fibre, etc Woody fibre Mineral matter (ash) ■. °' Uls 100.00 An analysis of soya, bean cake disclosed that this contained % Moisture Oil 6 - 12 Albuminous compounds 42.78 Starch, digestible fibre, etc. 28.41 Woody fibre Mineral matter (ash) 5-80 10000 Recent inquiries from Nelson merchants elicited that there was then no seed of the soya bean in stock on the local market, but that this could be obtained without unreasonable delay. In conclusion it was emphasised that farmers would be unwise to consider the cultivation of soya beans on any, but a small, scale without first being satisfied that the variety to he sown would succeed under local farming conditions, and also before ascertaining whether there was an assured market for the crop.