Soybean yield this year is likely to rise 5 per cent on improved pest control, better farmgate practices, timely sowing and favourable monsoon.
Following many field visits, Indore-based Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA) concluded that crop output per hectare is set to jump to 1,124 kg in the Kharif season as against 1,070 kg last year.
The crop-care sessions held for farmers by various industry associations and companies involved in soya processing seem to have borne fruit as the estimated yield shows a consistent growth of 21.25 per cent in the last two years.
| CARE EFFECT An overview of soybean in the kharif season | ||||||
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2008 | ||||
‘Semi-looper caterpillar’, a deadly pest, had attacked the early soybean crop in mid-August, spreading in about 35,000 hectares (ha) in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra, the second-largest producer state after Madhya Pradesh.
The attack was reported as intense in about 4,000-5,000 ha, which resulted in a considerable loss of sprouts. Timely action by local farmers and representative bodies helped control the attack.
Germination in the early sown crop was good with minor incidence of pest in some areas controlled by timely spraying of insecticides. Late occurrence of the Yellow Mosaic Virus was observed in small pockets, particularly in the region of the Narmada Valley. Recurrence of rains in September provided the ideal soil moisture conditions for pod-filling and higher productivity.
Maharashtra produces about 30 per cent of the country’s total soybean while Madhya Pradesh grows 55 per cent.
The SOPA study estimates a 15 per cent rise in output at 108.176 million tonnes this year as compared to 94.734 million tonnes last year. Based on these estimates, the national production of soybean will be at a record high this year.
The total acreage under soybean jumped 8.76 per cent, mostly on high edible oil prices. Farmers diverted sowing area from cotton and sugarcane to oilseeds and the biggest piece of the pie went to soybean.
Increasing demand for soybean meal in the export markets also provoked farmers to dedicate more area to the oilseed this year. The crop’s sowing area was recorded at 9.62 million hectares this kharif season as compared to 8.849 million ha last year.
