Its cultivation has gained popularity amongst farmers in recent years. The crop is a very good source of edible oil and protein. 10.12.1. Geographical Conditions. Soybean requires 13°C to 24°C of tempera­ture, 40 cm to 60 cm of rainfall and friable loamy acidic soils with pH value varying from 6.0 to 6.5. It is a Kharif crop sown in June (a fortnight before the onset of monsoon) and harvested in the middle October.

The crop also needs 3 to 4 irrigations during its growing period. Before sowing its seeds are inoculated with gur and rhizobium.

Area and Production

In India the per hectare yield of soyabean is 1012 kg (1995-96) which has increased from 437 kg/ha in 1970-71. Maharashtra is characterised by the highest per hectare yield (1109 kg) followed by Karnataka (894 kg), Madhya Pradesh (767 kg) and Rajasthan (692 kg). Madhya Pradesh state is the leading producer of soyabean in the country accounting for 69.78 per cent of total area and 65.09 per cent of the total production of the crop in India. Infect the most important soyabean produc­ing area incorporates the parts of western Madhya Pradesh and the adjoining areas, eastern Rajasthan and north-eastern Maharashtra. Outside this area southern Uttar Pradesh, Belgaumdistrict of Karnataka and Kolhapur and Sangli districts of Maharashtra are other soyabean growing areas of the country.