• Avoid using seeds which are more than 12 months old
• Soybean requires enough moisture at planting
• Can be planted in summer (December to April) and/or during winter (off-season), i.e. May/June and harvest around October with irrigation or in dimba under residual moisture
• Summer crop planting should be done with effective planting rains or soon as rains are well established i.e. 30mm of cumulative effective rains
• Soybeans should not be dry planted and should not be planted until it is clear that the rains have properly started.
• In winter season, planting should be done during May or June period but not later than July end.

• Soybean production requires good supply of nitrogen for high grain yield.
• Like other annual legumes, soybean has the ability to meet most of its nitrogen requirements. Inoculants foster the production of nitrogen.

Inoculants depends on:

• Specific varieties – these require inoculants for them to perform well in a field where soybean has not been planted over the last 3 years
• Promiscuous soybean varieties – these can easily associate with a number of rhizobia in the soil. Tikolore is the only promiscuous soybean variety released for cultivation in Malawi.
• If your field was planted with soybean in the last 3 years, then inoculation might not be necessary since the soybean will utilize the indigenous rhizobia left by the previous soybean crop.
• The inoculants that are recommended is SOY inoculants. This inoculant is available with various agro-dealers and research stations such as Chitedze and Bvumbwe
• It is packaged in 50g packets which is enough for 10-15kg seed. The procedure for inoculation is given as part of the seed package.
• Soybean inoculants require careful handling and storage. When you have inoculated your soybean seeds, planting should be done the same day (within 24hrs). the inoculants should be stored in a cool dry place where the rhizobia cannot be killed.

Ridge or flat spacing:

• Plant soybean either on ridges or flat seed-bed. If you decide to make ridges, the ridges should be spaced at 75cm apart and make 2 grooves (20-30cm apart) on a single ridge where the seed will be placed. If planting is on the flat, the recommended row spacing is 45cm between rows.
  • Place 1 seed per planting station 5cm apart to a depth of 2.5cm. flat planting should be done on rows spaced at 45cm apart and 5cm between plant stations.
  • The required seed rate is 80kg/ha for large seeded soybean varieties and 60-65kg/ha for small seeded soybean varieties such as Tikolore.