August 20, 2007

 

Better farming practices and high yield seeds boost India's soy crop

 

 

Better farming practices and the use of high-yield seeds should boost India's soy harvest in the 2007-08 crop year.

 

The country's per-hectare soy yield could increase by 22 percent on year to 1.1 tonnes, industry experts and scientists said Friday (Aug 17).

 

If the weather remains favorable in the next few months, the soy harvest could increase by 12 percent on year to 8.5 million tonnes, they added.

 

The crop condition is excellent and a good rise in per-hectare yield can be expected if the weather holds, G.S. Chauhan, director of state-run National Research Centre For Soy said.

 

Good rains in June in India's largest soy growing province of Madhya Pradesh provided ample soil moisture to farmers to aid germination and flowering, he said, adding that about 70 percent of the crop sown is in above-average condition.

 

An increase in acreage in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan and better farming practices such as the use of high-yield seeds, weed control and pesticides has brought optimism about the crop, said Rajesh Agarwal, spokesman for the Soy Processors Association of India, or SOPA.

 

Overall, soy has been sown in 8.1 million hectares in India as of Aug. 2, up 5 percent on year, SOPA said.

 

India's soy crop year runs from November to October.

 

High-yield seeds that mature faster are also expected to boost India's per-hectare soy yields in 2007-08, experts said.

 

For the last several years, most farmers in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan have been using the JSS-335 soy variety which has since lost its yield potential. However, this year, farmers saw more use of other certified seeds," Chauhan said.

 

JSS-335 gives a per-hectare yield of around 2,500-3,000 kilograms in ideal growing conditions and takes around 105 days to mature.

 

A new seed, called NRC-7, was allowed for commercial use a few years ago and gives a per-hectare yield of 3,000-3,500 kg and take around 90-92 days to mature.

 

Earlier, only 10 percent-15 percent of total sown area was covered with good varieties like NRC-7 and JS-9305, but this year the proportion has risen to around 25 percent-30 percent, Chauhan said.

 

The change is self-reinforcing. Farmers were more inclined to use the high-yield seeds and better farming practices as their earnings improved this year, Agarwal said.

 

Soy prices have remained firm at about INR16,000 per tonne (US$389.5) in the current crop year because of a drop in oilseed production and good demand.

 

Improvement in weed and insect managements in Madhya Pradesh, have also improved crop yields. There has not been a single complaint from farmers of weed or pest attack which is quite unusual, Chauhan said.

 

He said the cost of cultivating soy would decrease if the crops remain weed-free until maturity, as farmers will spend less on weed control and pesticides.

 

Weed and pests used to pull down per-hectare yield by around 10 percent-12 percent every year.

 

Still, some market watchers remain wary.

 

Just one and half months have passed since the crop was sown and equal time is still left to maturity, so making any guesses on the crop size would be inappropriate, said Davish Jain, chairman of the Central Organization of Oil Industry and Trade.

 

Rainfall in September is crucial for the crop as the plants would be in a pod-filling stage, and India's southwest monsoon usually slows around September.