Food-grains of India / by A.H. Church.

  • Arthur Herbert Church
Date:
1886
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Food-grains of India / by A.H. Church. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    TlIK Sov-iiiiAx. Glycine Soja, Sieb. iind Zucc. Synonyms—'io]^ hispida (Moench.); Dolichos Soja(Linn.); Soja angustlfolia (Miq.). T^iW.—Bhat, Bhatwan. Punjab—Gari-kulay. Naga—T5\x-d7.%. This important bean is the seed of Glycine Soja, a small, sub-erect, trifoliate, hairy annual, with pods generally 3 to 4-seeded. It belongs to the natural order Leguminos3e, sub- order Papilionacec-e, tribe Phaseoleiie, and sub-tribe Glycmeae: 5 genera are included in this sub-tribe. Glycine contains about 12 species, chiefly Australian, but 3 are Indian, namely, G. javanica, G. pentaphylla, and our present species. The soy-bean forms a considerable article of food in China and Japan. Since 1873 it has been successfully grown, as an experiment, in some of the warmer parts of Europe. It is widely spread in the outer Himalaya, and tropical regions from Kumaun to Sikkim, and the Khasir, and the Naga Hills to Upper Burma. It is often cultivated, rather largely in Busti' and Gorakhpur, Patna and Purniah Districts. This crop is generally grown by itself; the seeds are sown from June to September; the harvesting takes place between November and January. It is consequently a kharif crop. The seeds should be placed at a depth not exceeding i to i >^ inch ; 18 plants may be left, after weeding and thinning, to the square yard. A peaty soil, or one rich in organic matter, suits the plant best; a calcareous soil is also favourable to its growth. Sulphate of potash is a good manure ; nitrogen may be supplied either as nitrate of soda, or, in the case of soils poor in organic matter, in the form of rape or mustard cake, but it is rarely needed, while large applications of nitrogenous manure exert a distinctly injurious effect upon the yield of beans. So far as we know, this very important, vigorous, and productive pulse is not attacked by any insect or parasitic fungus. Although there are a number of varieties of the soy-bean, the chief differences between them lying in the size, shape, and colour