Performance of vegetable soybean cultivars under organic crop management system

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate growth and yield performance of vegetable soybean (<em>Glycine max</em>) cultivars under organic crop management practices. Four cultivars: Kaohsiung No. 6 (KS 6), Kaohsiung No. 9 (KS 9), Tainan ASVEG No. 2 (TNAV 2), and Japan aromatic flavor variety Cha-mame were grown in spring and fall seasons in organic experimental farm at AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center in 2006-2007. Organic crop management practices consisted of <em>rhizobium</em> seed inoculation, application of balanced solid and liquid organic fertilizer, integrated pest management involving sex pheromone, yellow and blue sticky paper traps, and bio-pesticide sprays (Neem and Bt); and bio-agents (<em>Trichoderma</em> spp., <em>Bacillus subtilis</em> and. <em>Streptomyces</em> spp. for fungal disease management. Yield performance showed that TNAV 2 produced the highest total pod yield, followed by KS 9 and Cha-mame. However, differences were not significant. TNAV 2 matured late whereas Cha-mame matured early. Over three growing seasons, Cha-mame produced the highest graded pod yield, followed by TNAV 2 and KS 9. This study indicates that both vegetable soybean cultivars Cha-mame and TNAV 2 have greater yield potential than other cultivars when produced under organic farming system.