Soybean Production Strategies for Kharif-2010
Due to uneven arrival of rains across major soybean growing regions, the planting of the crop has also been staggered. The crop in some regions of MP and Maharashtra has been planted timely July 15 to July 30. where as remaining areas in these states as well as in Rajasthan, the planting of soybean has continued till 20th of July.As planting is now
completed and crop is of about 10-30 days old, following strategies for
achieving optimum productivity are recommended to the farmers :
1. The
planting
of soybean after 20th July is not recommended as it is not
productive as well as profitable.In case planting of soybean was not possible till July 20, it is recommended that
in place of soybean early maturing catch crops (contingency crops) such as
mungbean, urdbean, cowpea or maize should be taken up.
2.
In case of prolonged water deficit (drought) conditions during early vegetative
growth stages of soybean, following measures are recommended :-
a). Make a provision of conservation furrows after 3 or 6 rows of soybean
b). Hand hoeing or bullock drawn hoeing (Dora or Kulpa) should be taken up. This will
not only help in removal of weeds, which transpire water rapidly but would also
help to create soil mulch and in breaking movement of water in soil
capillaries.
c). If
needed, use POE herbicides to control weeds.
3. Under
excess water conditions following measures are recommended:-
a). Construction
of drainage channels around the field for efficient removal of excess water.
b). Provision
of conservation furrows after 3 or 6 rows of soybean will help in drainage of
excess water into the drainage channels around the field.
c). If
hand hoeing or bullock drawn hoeing is not possible, use post emergence
herbicides to control excess weeds in the field.
4. To
control the insect-pests and diseases, following plant protection measures are
recommended:-
a). Due
to exposure to strong sunshine for 4-5 days after continuous rains, the chances
of occurrence of Collar rot become very high.
If the symptoms of collar rot are visible, the infected seedling should
be rouged out.This will help in reducing
the inoculum and secondary infection to the seedlings. Hand hoeing or bullock
drawn hoeing (Dora or Kulpa) should be taken up under such conditions which
will provide aeration to the soil and reduce the inoculum of soil borne
pathogens.
b). There
are chances of occurrence of fungal leaf spots which appear in about 25-35 days
old crop.If symptoms of fungal leaf
spot appear on the crop, depending upon intensity of the disease, a spray of
fungicide (Carbendazim @ 0.1%) may be taken up and spray should be repeated
after 10 days to check the foliar leaf spots.
c). During
the dry spells, with the increase in white fly population, attack of Yellow
mosaic virus (YMV) disease may be encountered.
At initiation the diseased plants shall be rouged out and destroyed and
crop be sprayed with thiamethaxom 25 WG @ 100 g/ha OR ethofenprox 10 EC @ 1.0 l/ha
OR trizophos 40 EC @ 0.8 l/ha to contain further spread.
d). Excessive
soil moisture facilitates emergence of Blue beetle in soybean crop.Early seedling stages of the crop are most
susceptible to blue beetle.Infestation
of linseed caterpillar (Spodoptera
exhigua) also takes place in the similar conditions.The crop should be sprayed with Quinalphos
25 EC @ 1.5 lit/ha to control these insects.
e). Since
the crop is about 10-20 days old and would reach to flowering stage in next
25-30 days.At this stage Spodoptera litura semiloopers and Helicoverpa armigera which appear during
flowering stage can damage crop heavily if not controlled.Therefore, these insects should be monitored
through pheromone traps.Attempts
should be made to control these insects in early instars stage itself with the
help of mechanical means or microbial insecticides viz. NPV, Beauveria bassiana or Bacillus thuringensis.In case application of microbial
insecticides is not possible due to continuous rains and the insect population
continue to grow, spray of any of the following chemical insecticides for
control of the above insects is recommended :-
i) Pofenophos 50 EC @ 1.25 lit/ha OR
ii) Lembda cyhalothrin 5 EC @ 0.3 lit/ha OR
iii) Indoxacarb 14.5 SC @ 0.3 lit/ha OR
iv) Emamectin benzoate 5 SG @ 0.18 kg/ha