I have been planting soyabean near my nagpur farm for last 3 years with 7-10 quintal/acre yields. This time, I plan to go all in, for a record output. Here is my plan; please comment with your opinions and experiences. I am targetting 15 quintal/acre this year
Soil: Black heavy soil that holds water, slightly alkaline, minor K and B deficiency. Previous crop : Chilli
Soil Prep: Deep summer ploughing
Sowing: With Manual rotary seed dibbler on raised beds with row to row spacing of 2 ft. 3-4 seeds at 5.5 inches (Plant to plant). A single drip line runs between two rows. Ideal spacing would have been 18 inches, but my drip is set up for 2 ft.
Variety: JS 2172
Basal Dose: 14-35-14 @ 75kg/acre + 10 kg MOP +5kg Humic acid flakes + Granular VAM
Pre sowing prep : Will run organic liquid via drip consisting of Nematode control Organisms +Tricho V + Pseudomonas F
Day 0 : Seed Treatment: BASF Xelora + thiomethaxim FS + NPK consortium + Mo ( essential for Nodule development). Pre-emergen herbicide Pendimethalin immediately after sowing.
Day 10: Repeat Trichoderma H and Pseudomonas F
Day 15: Run 15 Kg Ammonium Sulphate + 5 Kg 12-61-0/acre + EDTA Boron via drip. I have seen from US experience that a low N dose helps early vegetative growth without negatively imacting nodule formation. P & B is for early root deveopment.
Day 25 : Foliar 20 ppm 6BA + EDTA Zn for early branching
Day 30: Hand weeding ( this trial is only on 3 acres land)
Day 40: Foliar Lihocin to put brakes on Vegetative growth and push for Repeoductive growth
Day 45: Foliar Calcium + Boron EDTA + 100 ppm Salicylic acid foliar to support pollination and prevent flower drop. Salicylic acid is to build isease and stress resistance
Day 55: Urea via drip at 5kg/acre ( exact qty. to be adjusted by observing lower leaf drop and leaf colour etc.). reseach shows that nodule activity begins dropping after peak flowering. External N to compensate for increse N requirement as natural N supply drops. 0-52-34 at 5kg/acre to meet peak P requirement.
Day 65: Priaxor + Flonicamid + EDTA Boron to control fungal diseases and white flies. Priaxor and Boron helps keep plant green for longer and supports full pod filling. Might do one Fungicide + Insecticide spray earlier if needed.
Day 75: 10 Kg 0-0-50 /acre via drip to support pod fill
Key changes I have made to previous seasons
Mo at seed treatment
Supporting via external nitrogen where N from nodulation may fall short; primarily at the 15 DAS and after flowering.
Watering throughout the season via drip to maintain optimum moisture and avoid plant stress
Timely and repeated foliar Boron application. Apparently this is more effective than soil application
Avoiding herbicide completely to avert plant injury that may hurt growth
Cost considerations
Barring WSF, none of these ingredients are expensive. I do the foliar sprays myselves, so, regular foliar sprays dont hurt me that much economically. I already have the drip setup, sp that is not exactly added cost to me
Notes
Avoiding NAA, as it directly contradicts 6BA's role
Avoiding longer duration KDS varieties. I trust JS 2172 for its disease resistance. If I plant anything else and that catches YMV, no amount of input is going to fix that.
Will do more Insecticide + Fungicide sprays if and when needed
Expected results: I am targetting 15+ quintals/acre.
Please provide your valuable inputs and suggestions. Thanks