An annual, summer growing leguminous crop grown for protein and oil rich grain.
Description:
Cotyledons:
Two.
Leaves:
Stipules -
Petiole -
Blade -
Stems:
Flower head:
Flowers:
Ovary -
Sepals -
Petals -
Stamens -
Anthers -
Fruit:
Seeds:
Roots:
Have nitrogen fixing nodules.
Key Characters:
Biology:
Life cycle:
Annual herb. Seed is sown in November to January and the crop harvested in April to May.
Physiology:
Fixes nitrogen but usually requires inoculation before sowing as the Soybean Rhizobium is not a natural inhabitant of Australian soils and is from a different group to other legumes.
Sensitive to moisture stress especially during flowering and pod development.
Seed contains 19-23% oil and 40-45% protein.
Australian cultivars flower more rapidly in short day conditions
Reproduction:
By seed.
Flowering times:
Seed Biology and Germination:
Will germinate from up to 80 mm deep but grows more strongly when planted shallower.
Vegetative Propagules:
Hybrids:
Many commercial cultivars exist.
Allelopathy:
Population Dynamics and Dispersal:
Spread mainly by intentional planting.
Origin and History:
Derived from Asian species.
Distribution:
NSW, NT, QLD, SA, VIC, WA.
Habitats:
Climate:
Sub tropical.
In Australia it is mainly grown in the subtropics between 26-330S as an irrigated and dry land crop.
Soil:
Grows in most soil types. Prefers pH of 6-6.5 and soils with good moisture storage characters.
Plant Associations:
Significance:
Beneficial:
High protein grain.
Food. Fodder. Oils used for margarine and edible, salad and cooking oils.
Meal of seed after oil extraction has 50% protein and used for pig and poultry feed.
Honey plant.
Detrimental:
Toxicity:
Not recorded as toxic.
Symptoms:
Treatment:
Legislation:
None.
Management and Control:
Initial growth is slow and it is a weak competitor with weeds.
Thresholds:
Eradication strategies:
Herbicide resistance:
Biological Control:
Susceptible to Phytophthora stem rot.
Insect pests include sucking bugs, caterpillars and stem borers.
Related plants:
Silky Glycine (Glycine canescens)
Twining Glycine (Glycine clandestina)
Clover Glycine (Glycine latrobeana)
Wild Soybean (Glycine soja)
Glycine Pea (Glycine tabacina)
Woolly Glycine (Glycine tomentella)
Glycine falcata
Plants of similar appearance:
References:
Lazarides, M. and Hince, B. (1993). CSIRO handbook of economic plants of Australia. (CSIRO, Melbourne). #591.1.
Reid, R.L. (1990) The Manual of Australian Agriculture. (Butterworths, Sydney). P106-108.
Acknowledgments:
Collated by HerbiGuide. Phone 08 98444064 or www.herbiguide.com.au for more information.