Soybean

The Soybean plant is believed to have been domesticated in China around the 11^th Century and was later introduced to Africa by traders. The Chinese are known to have drawn a lot of health benefits from consuming the crop. The crop is also a good source of high quality protein, which has seen it being promoted for feed production and human consumption alike especially where access to protein in the form of meat and eggs is a problem. Zimbabwe is amongst Africa’s formally recognised soybean growers.

One pre-requisite for soybean production is that soils ought to be deep, well drained and possess high water holding capacities and high fertility. Potash (K), Phosphorus (P), Calcium (Ca) and Magnesium (Mg) are needed in great quantities in soya beans. Magnesium and Calcium are normally added by liming in soils were the pH falls within the range 4.5-5. Soybean is sensitive to fertiliser burn, but selecting the best fertiliser application method will help to avoid this.

Soybean is a legume capable of fixing nitrogen. Inoculation of the soil with Bradyrhizobium japonica ensures this fixation and gives up to 30-50kg N that can be made available to the next crop. Where a legume was planted prior to growing soybean – inoculation of the seeds is unnecessary.

We can make prescription blends for your field through a soil test report, and also offer the below soybean blends below

Our range of soybean fertilizers: