Sow soybean in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra only after the monsoon has delivered about 100 mm of rain, which in practice means 20 June to 5 July for most of the central zone, using 60 to 70 kg of seed per hectare (24 to 28 kg per acre), 30 to 45 cm between rows, and a variety recommended for your state. This guide follows the ICAR-Indian Institute of Soybean Research (IISR), Indore, recommendations and puts the most space on what matters in October: harvesting at the right stage, drying the crop, storing it and selling it against the MSP.
For the 2026-27 marketing season the government has fixed the MSP of yellow soybean at ₹5,708 per quintal, up ₹380 from ₹5,328 last year. That price only reaches you if the beans reach the buying centre in acceptable condition, so harvest timing and drying decide a large part of your income.
Varieties for Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra
Use a variety notified for your state, and buy certified seed with a bill. IISR lists the following among its recommended central-zone varieties; most mature in roughly 90 to 105 days. Earlier-maturing varieties suit areas where the monsoon withdraws early or where you want to follow soybean with chickpea or wheat.
| State | Varieties named in the IISR bulletin | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Madhya Pradesh | NRC 157, Indore Soy 131 (NRC 131), NRC 136, NRC 150, NRC 152, JS 21-72, RVSM 2011-35, RVS 76, NRC 138, NRC 142, NRC 130, JS 20-116, JS 20-94, JS 20-69, Raj Soya 18, Raj Soya 24 (RVS 2002-4) | NRC 157, 131 and 136 were recently recommended by the MP government |
| Maharashtra | MAUS 725, Phule Durva (KDS 992), Phule Kimaya (KDS 753), Phule Sangam (KDS 726), Phule Agrani (KDS 344), MAUS 612, MAUS 162, MACS 1407, MACS 1460, MACS 1520 | MAUS 725: 92-96 days, about 24 q/ha average yield in trials |
| Special traits | NRC 127 (free of Kunitz trypsin inhibitor), NRC 142 (also free of lipoxygenase-2), NRC 147 (high oleic) | For processors and niche contracts, not needed for ordinary sale |
Trial yields in the IISR table run from about 18 to 35 q/ha depending on the variety and year. On farms, yields are lower because of rain gaps and pests, so plan on 6 to 9 quintals per acre (15 to 22 q/ha) in an ordinary year.
Land preparation and sowing
- Land: Deep-plough in summer to expose girdle beetle and stem fly pupae to heat. Soybean does poorly in waterlogged soil, so on heavy black soils use a broad-bed-furrow (BBF) or ridge-and-furrow layout. IISR advises these layouts for moisture conservation in dry spells and for draining excess water.
- When: Sow after 100 mm of rain. For the central zone IISR gives 20 June to 5 July. In Maharashtra south of the central zone, the window is 15 to 30 June. If the monsoon is late, switch to an early-maturing variety, keep rows 30 cm apart and raise the seed rate by 25%.
- Seed rate: Medium-sized seed 65 kg/ha (26 kg/acre); bold seed 75 kg/ha (30 kg/acre); small seed 45 to 50 kg/ha (18 to 20 kg/acre). Check germination first and adjust.
- Spacing and depth: Early and dwarf varieties 30 cm between rows; medium and late varieties 45 cm; about 10 cm between plants; seed 2 to 3 cm deep (shallow for bold seed).
Seed treatment, in this order
- Fungicide: for example carboxin + thiram at 3 g/kg seed, or carbendazim + mancozeb at 3 g/kg, or Trichoderma viride 8 to 10 g/kg.
- Insecticide, if yellow mosaic virus or stem fly hits your area every year: thiamethoxam 30 FS at 10 ml/kg or imidacloprid 48 FS at 1.25 ml/kg.
- Biofertiliser last, just before sowing: Bradyrhizobium japonicum and phosphate-solubilising culture, 5 g/kg each (10 to 15 g/kg in a field that has never grown soybean).
Do not mix fungicide and culture in one slurry because the fungicide kills the bacteria. Follow the product label and ask your local KVK for current approved combinations.
Fertiliser
Soybean fixes its own nitrogen, so the dose is mostly phosphorus, potash and sulphur, all applied at sowing. IISR advises no top-dressing unless a scientist recommends it. Place fertiliser about 5 cm deep and never in contact with the seed, which is placed at 2 to 3 cm. The table is the central-zone dose in IISR's Table 3; the same bulletin also says central-zone farmers can meet a higher 25:100:50:50 requirement (for example 56 kg urea + 625 kg SSP + 84 kg MOP per hectare, or 125 kg DAP + 67 kg MOP + 25 kg bentonite sulphur per hectare), so the two statements do not fully agree. Let a soil test decide between them: use the lower dose on fields that test high in P and K and the higher dose on poor soils. A soil test from the Soil Health Card can refine it.
| Per hectare | Per acre (approx.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Nutrients (N : P2O5 : K2O : S) | 25 : 60 : 40 : 20 kg | 10 : 24 : 16 : 8 kg |
| As urea + single superphosphate + muriate of potash | 56 kg urea + 375 kg SSP + 67 kg MOP | 23 kg urea + 152 kg SSP + 27 kg MOP |
| Farmyard manure (optional) | 5 to 10 t | 2 to 4 t |
Zinc sulphate at 25 kg/ha with boron at 0.5 kg/ha as a basal dose reduces charcoal rot, according to IISR. On acidic soil (pH below 6.5) IISR suggests lime at 600 kg/ha; on saline soil (pH above 7.5) gypsum at 150 to 200 kg/ha. More details on products are on the fertilizers page.
Weeds
The first 30 to 40 days decide the yield. IISR advises a pre-emergence herbicide sprayed immediately after sowing and before the crop emerges (pendimethalin is one of the listed options), followed by a post-emergence herbicide 15 to 20 days after sowing where needed (for example imazethapyr with a surfactant). Give one hand weeding or inter-culture between them. Use the label dose and a flat-fan nozzle, and do not spray after the stated stage.
Pests and diseases in MP and Maharashtra
| Problem | What to look for | What works (IISR) |
|---|---|---|
| Girdle beetle | Drooping, drying plants with two rings cut on the stem | Sow in July rather than early; remove infested plant parts below the girdle up to 30 to 45 days; avoid extra nitrogen |
| Stem fly | Wilting of young plants, tunnelling in the stem | Crops sown at the end of June escape most damage; seed treatment with thiamethoxam or imidacloprid |
| Yellow mosaic (whitefly) | Yellow and green patches on new leaves, few pods | Treated seed; spray thiamethoxam when symptoms show and as a prophylactic spray at about 21 days; rogue early plants |
| Defoliators (hairy caterpillar, tobacco caterpillar, semilooper) | Leaves eaten, gregarious young larvae | Pull out and destroy patches with young larvae; pheromone and light traps; spray only above threshold on label-approved products |
| Rust | Grey-brown spots, then powder on the underside of leaves in humid, foggy spells (July to September) | Grow soybean only in kharif, avoid seed from affected fields, use tolerant varieties and recommended fungicide |
IISR stresses that a high seed rate and excess nitrogen attract defoliators and girdle beetle, and that potash improves crop health. Scout the field weekly. Pesticide labels change, so confirm the product and dose with your KVK or agriculture officer before spraying. More identification help is on the pests page.
Water: the gaps that hurt
Soybean is a rainfed crop, and dry spells at seedling, flowering and pod filling cause the biggest losses. If you have an irrigation source, give a life-saving irrigation at these stages before cracks open in the soil. Sprinkler or drip can be worth it for a short top-up; see sprinkler irrigation for subsidy details.
Harvest and threshing: get the timing right
- When: Harvest when 90% of the pods have turned yellow. Seed moisture at this stage is about 14 to 16%, and IISR notes that cutting then does not harm germination. Waiting for full dryness raises shattering and field-weathering losses, and rain at maturity damages quality.
- Threshing: Keep the thresher at 350 to 400 rpm to avoid cracked seed. If you cannot thresh at once, stack the cut crop in a safe place away from rain.
- Drying: After threshing, spread the grain and sun-dry it for 3 to 4 days until moisture comes down to about 10%. IISR calls this essential to avoid fungal infection in storage.
Storage
Keep the store cool, ventilated and free of insects. Store bags upright where possible. If you must stack, go no higher than 4 to 5 bags and 5 feet, on a wooden platform, and keep bags away from walls and floor where damp seeps in. For seed to be used next year, these conditions also protect germination.
Selling: MSP, mandi and timing
- MSP 2026-27: ₹5,708 per quintal for yellow soybean. The government estimates the all-India weighted average cost of production at ₹3,805 per quintal.
- Government buying: Procurement at MSP under the Price Support Scheme needs a separate approval for each state and is done by registered farmers at notified centres, so register on your state portal before the window closes and ask the centre for the current quality norms (moisture, foreign matter, damaged grain). Last season the Centre approved soybean buying of about 22.2 lakh tonnes in Madhya Pradesh and 18.5 lakh tonnes in Maharashtra on 27 October 2025, so the 2026-27 approvals for your state may come in the coming weeks; on 30 September 2026 the Centre has so far approved 1,15,500 tonnes for Karnataka. Watch your state agriculture department for the MP and Maharashtra notices.
- Mandi: At harvest time arrivals peak and prices are usually weaker. Compare the day's price with the MSP at the soybean mandi page and with the eNAM trade prices (eNAM) before deciding. Properly dried beans that you can hold safely give you the option to sell later when prices recover, which is impossible with damp grain.
Cost and return arithmetic
The ₹3,805 per quintal figure is the all-India average cost that includes hired labour, inputs, machinery, rent, interest and the value of family labour. Your own cost will differ. The table shows the margin per quintal for different selling prices and what that means on an acre at 8 quintals per acre (about 20 q/ha), all at the national average cost.
| Selling price (₹/qtl) | Margin over cost (₹/qtl) | Margin on 8 q/acre (₹) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4,500 | 695 | 5,560 | Below MSP: poor year |
| 5,000 | 1,195 | 9,560 | Typical harvest-time mandi gap |
| 5,708 (MSP) | 1,903 | 15,224 | Only if sold to a government centre |
Arithmetic: margin per quintal is selling price minus ₹3,805; margin per acre is that number times 8. A yield of 6 quintals per acre would cut these acre figures by a quarter, and yields of 10 would raise them by a quarter if costs do not rise. Crop insurance matters too: see PMFBY and, for timely cheap credit, Kisan Credit Card.
After soybean
Soybean leaves nitrogen in the soil and vacates the field in October, which suits chickpea, wheat or mustard. See the crop calendar to line up your rabi sowing, and check the weather page before harvest.
Sources
- ICAR-IISR Extension Bulletin 18 (2023): Improved Technologies for Maximising Soybean Productivity in India
- Cabinet approves MSP for Kharif crops 2026-27 (text of the official release)
- All India Radio News: Kharif procurement plan cleared for Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra, MP (27 Oct 2025)
- Social News XYZ: Centre approves MSP procurement of sunflower, moong, soybean in Karnataka (30 Sep 2026)