Introduction To Glycine max Soybeans Importance of Soybeans

Introduction To Glycine max, Soybeans

Importance of Soybeans • Soybeans provide 75% of the edible consumption of fats and oils in the United States. • US soybean exports were $8. 9 billion in 2006. China was the largest consumer of US grown soybeans. Source: www. soybeans. org/soystats. htm

Importance of Soybeans Cont. • Soybeans are very prominent ingredient in high protein feed supplements for livestock. • The economic importance of soybeans reaches beyond agriculture. It has importance in many industrial, food, and pharmaceutical products. Source: www. NSRL. edu

Taxonomy of Soybeans • Part of the Fabaceae family and subfamily Faboideae. • Shares the same subtribe, Glycininae, as kudzu. • Does not appear to have a close relationship with any other genus in the subtribe. Source: www. aphis. usda. gov/brs/soybean. html

Morphology of Soybeans • Soybeans are composed of a nodulated root system that is intermediate between a taproot and fibrous root. • The leaves of Glycine max are alternate, and pinnately trifoliate. Stipules are also present. • The flowers of the plant are a zygomorphic condition called papilionaceous. • 2 -4 seeds develop in pods. Source: www. aphis. usda. gov

Reproduction in Soybeans • Once the anther is mature it is able to share pollen with the stigma of the same flower. • This produces a very high level of self-pollination. In fact cross pollination occurs less than 1% of the time. Leading to pure breeding homozygous lines. Source: www. aphis. usda. gov

Habitat of Soybeans • Soybean cultivation is typically most successful in climates with hot summers. • Optimum growing conditions are in mean temperatures of 20ºC to 30ºC. • Temperatures below 20ºC and above 40ºC affect growth significantly. • Soybeans grown in a wide variety of soils, but optimum growth is in moist alluvial soils.

Habitat of Soybeans • Soybeans perform nitrogen fixation with the help of symbiotic bacteria. • For the best results farmers must inoculate the seeds with the correct strain of bacteria before planting. • Seeds need a minimum ground temperature of 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit to germinate.

History of Soybeans • Soybeans originated and were first grown in northeastern China. • People in Asia have been growing and using soybeans for thousands of years. • In 2853 BC, Emperor Sheng. Nung named five sacred plants, the soybean was one of the five. • Soybeans were first brought to the United States in the early 1800 s as the ballast aboard a ship. • Soybeans were first planted by farmers in the United States in 1879 as animal feed.

History of Soybeans • In 1904 the famous chemist George Washington Carver discovered the benefits of rotating soybeans and cotton. • In 1919 William Morse cofounded the American Soybean Association. • At this time there were only twenty known varieties of soybeans. • In 1929 Morse went to China and gathered more than 10, 000 varieties for research.

History of Soybeans • In the 1940’s soybean farming in the United States gained popularity. • World War II had devastated most of China’s soybean fields and the farmers here produced what was needed. • Since the 1950’s soybeans have accounted for 25 million tons of animal feed each, no other animal feed comes close. • Currently, thirty-one states grow soybeans with the top three producers being Illinois at 478 million bushels, Iowa at 408 million, and Indiana at 274 million bushels per year.

Harvesting Soybeans • The bar on the front of the combine cuts the entire soybean plant, puts the seed in the large tank in the top center of the combine and deposits the rest of the plant back onto the soil. A combine can harvest soybeans, wheat, or corn from an area the size of a football field in three to five minutes. Soybeans are harvested in the fall and most often followed by planting corn the next spring.

Harvesting Soybeans • Soybeans are then deposited into semitrailer trucks and hauled to processing plant

Soy Uses

Soy Products

Research • Research is being conducted on the isoflavone aglycone derived from soybean germ which can be used to prevent sudden deafness in humans by manifesting an action that is effective in treating disease in humans. • Research is also being conducted on the potential for soy isoflavones in menopausal women. The promise of soy isoflavones reducing chronic disease risk seems to be non-uniform, with the most conclusive benefits occurring in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, but other organ systems, such as skeletal and reproductive tissues, may also benefit from the consumption of soy and soy-derived products in menopausal women.

Summary • The United States is the principal world supplier of soybeans (Jewell, 1988). • Soybean, Glycine max (L. ) Merr. , combines in one crop both the dominant world supply of edible vegetable oil, and the dominant supply of high-protein feed supplements for livestock. • Other fractions and derivatives of the seed have substantial economic importance in a wide range of industrial, food, pharmaceutical, and agricultural products (Smith and Huyser, 1987). • Despite its non-popularity in the United States prior to 1940, the soybean has become one of the most economically important plants grown in the United States.

References • Published 04/27/2000 © All Rights Reserved 2000, 2001, 2002. This Website created and maintained by: TTS The John Deere (Combine and Tractor Trailer Pictures). • North Carolina Soybean Producers Board. United Soybean Board http: //www. ncsoy. org/How_are_Soybeans_processed/ho w_are_soybeans_processed_. htm (Soybean Processing Picture) • www. aphis. usda. gov • www. soybeans. org/soystats. htm • www. NSRL. edu