THE SOYA BEAN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20421, 25 November 1929, Page 5

THE SOYA BEAN.

USE IN NEW ZEALAND.

MANIFOLD POSSIBILITIES.

TESTS IN PRIVATE GARDENS. BY W. S. HILL B.AGR. The manifold uses to which the soya bean is converted in Eastern countries and the prominence recently given to the acclimatisation of one variety of the bean in England naturally provoko enquiry as to tho possibilities of the crop in the Dominion.

The soya bean seed is extremely rich in valuable food substances. An analysis shows 17.5 pe? cent, of oil, 40.5 per cent, of proteins, 22.5 per cent, of digestible carbohydrates, and 5 per cent, o} mineral matter. The crop is widely grown in Manchuria, which country is said to have a severe winter followed by a short, warm, but humid summer. The surplus crop has been exported largely to the United Kingdom, where the oil is extracted and the cake used for replacing cotton cake as a concentrated stockfeed.

Soya beans were introduced to New Zealand in 1912 by tho Department of Agriculture. They were successfully, grown at both the Ruakura and Moumahaki Experimental Farms. The varieties grown at Moumahaki 'could be classed into two groups. Those most suited for seed production and thos6 suited for fodder production. Of the former, the Early Yellow'matured in 175 days, and produced a large yellow seed. The varieties Arlington, Meyer, and Brownie, were more suited for fodder purposes. Again, soya beans were successfully grown afc the Technical College plots at Otahuhu, in 1923 and 1924. It was noted, however, that with those varieties having hairy pods and with the latermaturing varieties some difficulty was experienced in thoroughly drying out the pods before harvesting. The PJant Acclimatisation Section of the Auckland Council of the Institute of Horticulture has recently received samples of fifteen varieties. This introduction together with the two previous introductions were courteously forwarded by tho Bureau of Plant Industry of the United States Department of Agriculture. This bureau, through the agency of its agricultural explorers in Manchuria, and China, introduced to America over a hundred varieties of soya beans These have been grown at Arlington, Virginia, and it is from this collection that the recent introduction has been selected. Although Auckland claims to be progressive there is no institution or Botanic Garden where the seeds or introduced plants can be sown and tested for a series of years. In this direction there is a lag of about 50 years. While the ' Americans have scoured the earth for new and useful plants and have introduced over 90,000 different types, yet we have no area where we can test the economic value of seeds or plants for farm, orchard or garden. One or two really valuable introductions would soon offset the cost of establishing a station devoted to horticultural research. In the meantime it is the intention "of the Institute of Horticulture to test the varieties of soya beans on hand in private gardens and to build up a stock of-ac-climatised seed.