Maharashtra experiments with summer season soyabean; might bolster farmer earnings

Farmers in Maharashtra have experimented with rising soyabean as a summer season crop, which might set a brand new pattern in rising of the oilseed. Dheeraj Kumar, agriculture commissioner, instructed The Indian Express just lately that soyabean was sowed on an experimental foundation over 12,000 hectares and it’ll assist farmers in bolstering their incomes, given the excessive value of the oilseed presently.
Farmers had sown the seed in November-December and began the harvest publish March.
A kharif crop, farmers in main oilseed rising states normally sow the seed in June-July and harvest after October. On a median, the oilseed is sowed over 110-120 lakh hectares throughout the nation whereas in Maharashtra, it’s sowed on 40-42 lakh hectares. A drought resistant crop, soyabean is the primary money crop in Marathwada and Vidharbha, two areas the place the panorama is dotted with solvent and extraction crops.
The experiment was meant to see the feasibility of soyabean as a crop in the course of the summer season season, Kumar mentioned.
“Soyabean requires a certain amount of moisture so areas where such soil moisture was present was selected to grow the crop,” he mentioned. Districts of Prabhani, Nanded, Washim, Dhule and Nagpur had been chosen for the experiment. The per acre productiveness of the summer season crop was barely decrease than the traditional 20 quintals per acre with farmers reporting 12-15 quintals per acre yields. J 335, the straight line seed of the state authorities’s seed firm Mahabeej, was used for sowing.
Since the beginning of the October-September soyabean advertising season, the oilseed has been buying and selling above its authorities declared Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 3,880 per quintal. Reports of seed failure throughout Maharashtra had led to farmers sowing the oilseed for a second time. During the harvest season, loss in yield was reported from some elements after torrential rains.
This yr, the agriculture division had undertaken an enormous outreach programme to assist farmers preserve their seeds for subsequent yr.
Kumar mentioned the summer season sowing experiment was undertaken to fulfil any shortfall of seeds within the state. “The oilseed is trading above Rs 6,000 per quintal so some farmers will try to dispose of their stock,” he mentioned.
While a lot of the soyabean seed producing firms are situated in Madhya Pradesh, farmers in Maharashtra who their largest clients. Soyabean is a straight selection crop, so farmers can harvest seeds for sowing for the subsequent season.
The success of the experiment, Kumar mentioned, provides hope for conducting related trials on a bigger scale within the coming season. “Of course, this will be only possible if there is enough soil moisture available for the crop,” he added.