Soybeans stand out from other major crops: broad leaved rather than a grass; a legume, so plants supply their own needs for nitrogen fertilizer while increasing the fertility of the land; and soybeans are rich in oil, protein and carbohydrate.
In the US, soybeans are grown on half of the 30 million hectares on which no-till farming is practiced. In Brazil, no-till has also been widely adopted for soybeans. Broad-spectrum herbicides, led by the introduction of paraquat in the 1960s, allowed the adoption and growth of no-till which does not rely on controlling weeds by burial from ploughing.
Soybean fact file
94 million hectares grown worldwide in 2007
90% or more of all soybean fields in USA and Argentina are GM
71% increase in productivity since 1995
40% of bean weight is oil rich in monounsaturated oleic acid
17% of US soybeans were used to make biodiesel in 2007
16 million hectares under no-till in USA
No-till systems save cash, time and fuel, improve soil structure, reduce erosion and provide havens for wildlife. Paraquat is deactivated on contact with the soil meaning that it can be sprayed to burndown weeds before planting without risking crop damage from root uptake. Paraquat works well even in cold and rainy weather.