Soya

Agronomy

Soya agronomy is well established and straightforward. Much depends on selecting the correct variety in the first place and then following the correct advice.

• Sow in late April/ Early May.
• Apply pre-emergence chemical.
• Spray broadleaved weeds with post-emergence herbicide, usually around 5 weeks from sowing in late May.
• Possible inclusion of a fungicide with this post-emergence herbicide to guard against sclerotinia in thick crops.
• Apply a graminicide 2 weeks later if grass weeds are a problem (e.g. wild oats, barren brome, black grass, etc).
  Apply a desiccant prior to harvest.

Click here to read our latest agronomy guide.

Varieties

Soya UK have been growing soya here in the UK since 1998.

In the last 18 years, we have seen a transformation in the breeding of the soya varieties, with a number of adaptations which are particularly useful to growers in the UK.

Earliness of harvest

Soya UK varieties have been bred for earliness.  This is an essential feature in colder, wetter and more northern situations, like the UK, but the real skill is in breeding for earliness whilst retaining yield potential.

Improved yields

Again – this is an obvious breeding objective which has seen significant improvement.  In various European trials, our varieties have out-yielded the best of the other European and North American varieties.

Improved plant architecture – stronger stems, erect growth habit, higher pod attachment.

One great problem with traditional soya varieties has been  their growth habit.  Traditional varieties had thin stems which grew close to the ground and the pods would form very close to the ground.  This made them difficult to harvest and made canopy management much more difficult.

In 2015 we launched our new varieties which are radically different.  They now have thick, independent stems, higher pod attachment, and terminal clusters of flowers which mean that the majority of the yield is in the upper half of the canopy.  The result is a crop which is easier to grow, easier to manage, more weather robust, and easier to harvest.