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AQUASTAT Soybean
AquaCrop
This section presents information on water relations and water management of soybean and provides links to other
AQUAMAPS sources of information.

AQUALEX Crop Description and Climate

Soybean (Glycine max) is one of the most important world crops and is grown for oil and protein. Present world
Crop Information production is about 176.6 million tons of beans over 75.5 million ha. The crop is mainly grown under rainfed
conditions but irrigation, specifically supplemental irrigation, is increasingly used. (FAOSTAT, 2001).
Tobacco
The crop is grown under warm conditions in the tropics, subtropics and temperate climates. Soybean is relatively
resistant to low and very high temperatures but growth rates decrease above 35°C and below 18°C. In some
Maize
varieties, flowering may be delaXed at temperatures below 24°C. Minimum temp-eratures for growth are about
Sorghum 10°C and for crop production about 15°C. Only 25 to 30 percent of the flowers produce set pods, the final number
depending on the plant vigour during the flowering period. Year to year temperature variations can lead to
Wheat di"erences in flowering.

Cotton Soybean is basically a short-day plant, but response to daylength varies with variety and temperature and
developed varieties are adapted only to rather narrow latitude di"erences. Daylength has an influence on the rate
Alfalfa of development of the crop; in short-day types, increased daylength may result in the delay of flowering and taller
plants with more nodes. Short days hasten flowering, particularly for late-maturing varieties. Vegetative growth
Banana normally ceases during yield formation. The length of the total growing period is 100 to 130 days or more. Soybean
is often grown as a rotation crop in combination with cotton, maize and sorghum. Row spacing varies from 0.4 to
Citrus 0.6 m with 30 to 40 seeds per metre of row.

Grape The crop can be grown on a wide range of soils except those which are very sandy. Optimum soil pH is 6 to 6.5.
The fertilizer requirements are 15 to 30 kg/ha P and 25 to 60 kg/ha K. Soybean is capable of fixing atmospheric
Pineapple
nitrogen which meets its requirements for high yields. However, a starter dose of 10 to 20 kg/ha N is beneficial for
good early growth.
Potato
A shallow water table, particularly during the early growth period can adversely a"ect yields. The plant is sensitive
Groundnut
to waterlogging, but moderately tolerant to soil salinity. Yield decrease due to soil salinity is: 0% at ECe 5
mmhos/cm, 10% at 5.5, 25% at 6.2, 50% at 7.5 and 100% at ECe 10 mmhos / cm.
Olive
The graph below depicts the crop stages of soybean, and the table summarises the main crop coe#cients used for
Sa!ower
water management.
Soybean

Sunflower

Bean

Pea

Sugarbeet

Sugarcane

Cabbage

Onion

Pepper

Tomato
 Watermelon

CropWat

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Rapid Appraisal Procedure

(RAP) Stages of Development Plant Region
date
SoiLEX
Crop characteristic Initial Crop Mid- Late Total
SoilSTAT
Development season
WaPOR

WaterLex Stage length, days 15 15 40 15 85 Dec Tropics

20 30/35 60 25 140 May Central
20 25 75 30 150 June USA
Japan

Depletion Coe#cient, 0.5 >> 0.6 0.9 0.5

p

Root Depth, m 0.3 >> >> 1.0 -

Crop Coe#cient, Kc 0.5 >> 1.15 0.5 -

Yield Response 0.2 0.8 - 1.0 0.85

Factor, Ky

Water Requirements
Water requirements (ETm) for maximum production vary between 450 and 700 mm/ season depending on climate
and length of growing period. The water requirements are given by the crop coe#cient (kc) in relation to reference
evapotranspiration (ETo) and kc is: during the initial stage 0.3-0.4 (20 to 25 days), the development stage 0.7-0. 8
(25 to 35 days), the mid-season stage 1.0-1.15 (45 to 65 days), the late-season stage 0.7-0.8 (20 to 30 days) and at
harvest 0.4-0.5.

Water Supply And Crop Yield

Following figure shows growth periods of soybean (after Chiang)
The relationships between relative yield decrease (1 - Ya/Ym) and relative evapotranspiration deficit for the total
growing period are shown in the figure below.

This figure shows the relationships between relative yield decrease (1 - Ya/Ym) and relative evapotranspiration
deficit for the individual growth periods.
Adequate water (between 15 and 50 percent soil water depletion) must be available for germination. Water
deficiency or excess water during the vegetative period (1) will retard growth. Growth periods most sensitive to
water deficits are the flowering (2) and yield formation periods (3), particularly the later part of the flowering
period (end 2) and early part of the yield formation (pod development, 3a) period when water deficits may cause
heavy flower and pod dropping. Irrigation after severe water deficits during period 2 may cause similar symptoms.
The seeming drought-resistance of the-crop during flowering (2) and early yield formation (pod development, 3a) is
the result of the flowering period extending over one month; light water deficits during a part of this period can be
compensated for by better retention of later-formed flowers and pod setting. For normal pod filling and high yield
the soil water during the yield formation period (pod filling, 3b) should not exceed the 50 percent depletion level.

When water supply is limited, savings in water can be made by reducing the supply during the vegetative period (1)
and particularly near crop maturity (late 4). When required, a pre-irrigation should be given to allow proper crop
establishment. Water savings should be minimal during the late flowering period (late 2) and early yield formation
period (pod development, 3a).

For maximum production, water supply may be directed toward enlarging the area under irrigation rather than
toward meeting maximum crop water requirements over a restricted acreage. However, crop water demands
should be met during the establishment period (0) and early yield formation (3a).

Water Uptake
Depending on soil water availability, early root development in deep soils is relatively rapid and vigorous. Most
rapid root growth is often noted after the start of flowering. The tap root may extend to over 1.5 m. The crop can
e"ectively draw all available soil water up to 1.8 m. If soil depth is restricted, the tap root is less pronounced and
lateral roots are more developed. While the crop can grow on heavy soils, the roots tend not to penetrate even
moderately compacted layers. Although the roots are generally concentrated in the first 0.6 m or even sometimes
the first 0.3 m, considerable soil water, particularly during the later growth periods, can be extracted from the
lower parts of the root zone. However, under normal conditions 100 percent of the water uptake occurs from the
first 0.6 to 1.3 m soil depth (D = 0.6-1.3 m).

At germination, the soil water content should not exceed 85 percent or fall below 50 percent of available soil
water. After establishment (0), the crop can withstand short periods of drought. For irrigation scheduling under
medium evaporative conditions (ETm 5 to 6 mm/day), an allowable depletion level of 55 percent may be assumed
(p = 0.55)

Irrigation Scheduling
Soybean is usually not grown under full irrigation. In many climatic conditions, however, one or more
supplemental irrigations during critical growth periods will substantially increase yields. If one application can be
given, the most likely timing will be in the late flowering period (2), when small pods are beginning to appear. If two
 applications can be given, it is usually wise to give the first application at pre-emergence to assure a rapid
establishment of the plant. A third application, where possible, will give the best results if given at the beginning of
pod filling (3b).

Irrigation Methods
In areas where soybean is irrigated, the costs of sprinkler irrigation only can be borne if it is grown in rotation with high
value crops. Furrow irrigation is most common.

Yield
Yield can vary widely with water availability, fertilization and row spacing. Under rainfed conditions, good soybean
yields vary between 1.5 and 2.5 ton/ha seed. High yields of improved varieties are between 2.5 and 3.5 ton/ha seed
under irrigation. The water utilization e#ciency for harvested yield (Ey) for seed containing 6 to 10 percent
moisture is 0.4 to 0.7 kg/m3. The e"ect of irrigation on oil and protein content of the grain is rather insignificant.
However, under adequate irrigation there is a tendency toward a slight increase in protein content and a slight
decrease in oil content.

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