Soya: How to unravel the potential

There are few crops that are as ‘gifted' by nature as soya. Because it has 45% protein content, it is now gradually being used as a replacement for the more expensive mukene (silver fish) in livestock feeds. Soya is also used for making nutritious flour, processing oil and even processing ‘soya milk'.

Big demand

Demand has, therefore, been rising in the country and the region for the last few years. To meet this demand, Uganda imports soya from South Africa and Brazil. And yet, soya can be grown in most regions of Uganda. Therefore, this means that anybody with land can invest in it.

To invest in an acre of soya, a farmer growing it commercially spends about sh2-sh3m. Average yield from the common varieties is 3,000kg (three tonnes). Price per kilogramme ranges between sh2,500 and sh3,000. This gives between sh7.5m and sh9m per acre.

Seed bed preparation

Soils should be deep and well drained. A fine seed bed and fertile loam soils are required to ensure good crop growth and development. Prepare the farm by ploughing using a tractor, if you are a commercial farmer. This costs sh100,000 per acre and then use the same tractor to harrow (okwanjala), which can cost another sh100,000 per acre.

Planting

Soybean spacing is dependent on the method of planting, such as planters, hand dibble or drill when planters place one seed per hole. Soybean should be planted at a spacing of 60cm between rows and 5cm between plants.

For edible planting by hand hoe, three seeds per hole are planted at the spacing of 50cm between rows and 25cm between plants.

By the drilling method, seeds are sown 60cm between rows and 5cm between plants. A seed rate of 50-60kg/ha or 25 to 30kg per acre is recommended, giving 300,000 plants per hectare.

Fertiliser application

You will not require nitrogen fertilisers on good soils.

Phosphorous fertiliser is essential. For good results, incorporate 200kg/ha of SSP or 100kg/ha of TSP into the soil before planting. Apply 50kg/ha of NPK.

Crop protection

Weed control: Keep the fields free of weeds.

• First weeding: Three weeks after planting

• Second weeding: Three weeks after second weeding

• Third and fourth weeding: It can also be done if need be.

Diseases: Available varieties are resistant to most diseases, except soybean rust. Use disease-resistant soybean varieties as a control measure. Fungicides can be used to control soybean rust, where susceptible varieties, like Namsoy1 and Namsoy2 are used. The most readily available fungicide is Diathne M45: Rate 2kg per hectare (2.5g or litre) or one levelled teaspoon in two litres of water. Best results are obtained when applied on two-week interval from disease on set.

Pests: The most common soybean pest is the stink bug (usually green), which pierces the pod pericarp and sucks the sap from the developing seeds.

The plant compensates for lost pods by setting new ones, but pods in infested plots have fewer and smaller seeds.

When pods are damaged by a stink bug, the plants retain their leaves and their stems remain green after maturity. Green stems among mature plants make harvesting difficult.

Compiled by Joshua Kato (editor, Harvest Money)