Depending on the purpose of your soya bean plantation, timing and moisture content is important when it comes to harvesting soya beans. The ideal moisture content for harvesting is between 13% and 20% as the seeds do dry down under aeration.
Seed moisture content:
- 14% or less – Dry
- 14.1% to 16% – Tough
- 16.1% to 18% – Damp
Delaying your soya bean harvest until seed moisture is less than 13% can result in seed coat damage, shatter loss, and yield loss. In order to determine when to start harvesting your soya beans, we recommend monitoring your pre-harvest field in order to determine when the soya beans are ready, and which system will be best suited for your harvesting operation. When monitoring your pre-harvest field, you should check for uniformity of the plants’ maturity at different locations of the plantation. Most fields will not be 100% uniform, but it is important that you don’t sacrifice the quantity and quality of your yield while waiting for smaller areas to reach maturity.
Determining the right time to harvest your soya beans will depend on a majority of the field meeting certain criteria:
- Crop maturity
- Seed moisture content
- Presence of weed growth
Pre-harvest Weed Control
Pre-harvest herbicides for weed control should be applied at the correct stage for best product performance. Pre-harvest glyphosate must only be applied when the grain moisture content is less than 30% in the least mature part of the field to prevent unacceptable residues in or on the harvested grains. Be sure to follow the label and timing instructions of each application.
The Harvesting Process
Combines are used to harvest soya beans. A combine collects the soya bean plants, separates the beans/seeds from their pods, and collects the beans/seeds into a holding tank. When the tank is full, the combine operator will empty the soya bean holding tanks into a grain truck or grain wagon. Soya beans are either taken directly to a grain dealer or storage facilities (stored until the farmer decides to sell them).
Want To Try One Of Our Soya Bean Cultivars In Your Next Harvest?
Our Intacta® RR2 Pro soya bean seeds can be purchased in bulk at any of our agents. For more information on any of our soya bean cultivars, please contact our South African SHS branch at 081 490 9825 for more information.
