Soy Beans as a Supplementary Silage Crop 263 



From all our reports from farmers who have tried soy beans for forage, 

 the Medium Green variety is best adapted to the purpose in this State. 



SOILS and climate for soy beans 



The soil requirements for soy bean growing do not seem to be any more 

 limited than do the soil requirements for corn growing. The best and 

 most profitable crops can be grown where the soil conditions are most 

 suitable. It has been noted that soy beans have excellent drought- 

 resisting qualities, and also that they will survive wet weather better 

 than will corn.* The crop is hardier than the common field bean. It 

 may be planted earlier, as early as the ground is warm enough for corn. 

 It may be harvested later than field beans, and has been left out of doors 

 exposed to winter weather without injuring all the seed. The writer found 

 that out of a small field of Medium Green soy beans which had been pulled 

 and bunched in autumn and left exposed in the field all winter, those pods 

 that did not touch the ground contained normal and viable beans that 

 were successfully used for seed in the fields the season following. The 

 pods seem to give admirable protection from frost, rain, and snow. 



cultural methods 



Soy beans respond readily to good cultivation. Without intertillage, 

 their growth is likely to be disappointing. The method of cultivation 

 best suited to the crop is similar to that used in growing common field 

 beans. A mellow seed-bed, well smoothed by the harrow, is conducive 

 to uniform depth in planting and to a good stand of plants. If the crop 

 is to be grown alone, the seeds should be planted in drill rows far enough 

 apart for horse cultivation. Rows 28 inches apart have been found satis- 

 factory. In rows of this width the bean plants should not stand nearer 

 than I inch apart. For seed production alone, more space is desirable. 

 Wider space between rows may be used and the beans dropped closer 

 together in the row. The drill row should be narrow in order to make 

 it easier to control weeds by cultivating. A grain drill with hoes 7 inches 

 apart may be used for sowing the seed. With every fourth hole in the 

 seed box open, 28-inch rows will be sown. The seed may be covered one 

 to two inches deep without hanii if no pressure is applied afterward. 

 The soy bean cotyledons force their way above ground more easily than 

 do those of larger beans. The planting may be done as early as the ground 

 is warm enough to plant corn, or as late as the middle of June, but only the 

 early varieties can be expected to mature seed when planted so late in 

 central New York. For seed production, i bushel of seed beans an acre 



^United States Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin No. 58. 



