Leguminous Vegetable Cultivation and Seed Production S ...

At the seedling stage, the crop is usually attacked by beanflies. The adult beanfly may be found
on the leaf. The beanfly larva or maggot tunnels through the stem and causes the most serious
damage.
To control beanfly, spraying of insecticides such as monocrotophos or omethoate or dimethoate
at the rate of 0.25-0.5 kg a.i./ha 3-4 days after emergence of seedlings is suggested. The spray is
repeated 3 to 4 times or more at weekly intervals depending on insect infestation.
Soybean is attacked by rust disease which may cause serious yield losses. Plant rusttolerant/resistant
cultivars, if available. Fungicides such as mancozeb or triadimefon at 2 kg
a.i./ha can be sprayed against soybean rust. Spray 2 to 3 times as needed. To reduce the cost of
spraying, the fungicide and a compatible insecticide can be mixed and sprayed. If labor is
available, the field may be hand weeded occasionally.
Three to four seeds planted per hole gives a density of about 500,000 to 600,000 plants per
hectare which covers the field very well and also controls weed growth. The crop matures in
about 85 to 100 days. Harvesting is generally done manually.
• The beans are threshed with a locally developed mechanical thresher. Threshed seeds are cleaned
and dried in the sun and marketed.
• The yield of an 85 to 100-day soybean crop is between 1.4 and 3 tons per hectare.
Mungbean Sprout Productioq
Mungbean is an important legume crop extensively cultivated in many developing countries
where a variety of mungbean dishes and other products are prepared. The mungbean sprout is a
traditional vegetable in China and Southeast Asia. However, mungbean sprout is not well known
in South Asia, Africa and most other mungbean-producing countries where a vast potential for its
commercial production, consumption and export exists.
Mungbean sprout production is a simple germination process which requires neither
sunlight nor soil; it has no seasonal limitations. The process is completed in just four to eight days.
The sprout production is extremely inexpensive, requiring only mungbean seeds, sprouting
containers and water as inputs. It can, therefore, be practiced even by poor farmers in augmenting
their meager resources. Mungbean sprouts serve as a good alternative vegetable and source of
income. This is especially true during hot wet summer and rainy seasons when there is acute
shortage of fresh vegetables, or in the event of crop losses due to natural calamities like typhoon,
flood or epidemics of diseases or insect pests.
The potentials of mungbean sprout as a cheap nutritious food and the method of producing
mungbean sprout for domestic use as well as for earning an income are described below:
• Mungbean sprouts cooked alone or mixed with meat or other vegetables provide a fresh and
naturally nutritious dish.
Mungbean sprout production simply involves germination, which can be done indoors
throughout the year. It does not require soil and sunlight.
• The procedure involved in sprout production includes washing, soaking, sprouting, harvesting
and packing.
e Small hard-seeded mungbean often has poor germination and weak sprout growth. Large-seeded
mungbean is also not so economical since they result in lesser sprouts.
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