Soya bean
Soya (Glycine max) is a sub-tropical crop grown mainly in North and South America, however it has recently seen a revival in UK agriculture due to improvements in varieties and the demand for GM free soya.
The UK imports 1 million tonnes as beans and a further 1 million tonnes as meal, all for animal feed. The area of soya grown in the UK at the turn of the millennium was about 1,700 ha, however it is currently down to less than 100 ha.
Soya is sown in late April to early May, into a thoroughly cultivated, deep loose seedbed prepared immediately before sowing. The crop is harvested using a conventional combine harvester in September, where care should be taken to reduce damage. The crop is best suited to the warmer areas of southern Britain, where yields can reach 3t/ha, although averages are nearer to 2.5t/ha.
Soya is a nitrogen fixing crop, which can fix as much as 175kg N/ha, therefore it requires low nitrogen inputs, however it is advised that some nitrogen is applied to the seedbed.
