Which soybean variety is best for Madhya Pradesh?

JS 95-60 saved my crop the year monsoon withdrew early in Ujjain because it matured fast. In a good rain year the medium varieties out yield it, so I split my area between two durations.

JS 20-34 has been good for me in Dewas in years with steady rain; it stood better and gave more pods than my old JS 93-05. But it needs the moisture to last, so on my shallow soil patch I still keep JS 95-60 to be safe.

Whatever variety you choose, test the seed germination before sowing. Soybean seed loses germination fast if stored badly, and bold seed cracks easily during handling. The year I sowed without testing I had a thin stand and had to gap fill. A simple wet cloth test of 100 seeds saves a costly resowing.

Do not chase only the highest yielding variety; match it to your land and rain. My friend sowed a long medium variety on shallow Nimar soil that dries fast and it failed at pod filling when the rain stopped. The early JS 95-60 on the same soil did far better. Soil depth and how long your monsoon lasts matter more than the variety name.

Keep two or three varieties of different durations rather than putting all land under one. Spreading the maturity also spreads the harvest labour and the risk from a single bad rain spell. This staggering has protected me in both early withdrawal and excess rain years.

Watch for girdle beetle and stem fly on the newer high yielding lines in our Indore area; some of them seemed to attract more pest pressure when the canopy was dense. Seed treatment and timely scouting kept it in check for me. Ask the KVK which current varieties have field tolerance to these stem pests.

Source seed from a trusted outlet or grow your own from certified seed a year ahead. The fake and mixed soybean seed in the market caused poor and uneven crops for several farmers near me. The seed corporation and ICAR Indore are safer than roadside sellers.