Essay On Soybean

Soybean is referred to as ‘meat of the field’ or ‘meat without bone’ (Abraham 2013). It is an annual antioxidant-rich grain legume that contains 40% protein content and 20% high quality oil (Ishaq and Ehirim 2012). Soybean is the primary source of the world’s supply of protein and vegetable oil. Augmented production of soybean has been observed to elevated world’s populace increase and reduced demand for protein and edible oil in future (Ishaq and Ehirim 2012)

Abraham (2013) reported that over 80 percentage of the arena’s soybean crop is processed into meal and vegetable, which are used in the production of animal feeds. Soybean is the largest supply of oil in the international seed exchange with approximately 95 percentage consumed as edible oil (Kolapo 2011). The by-products of soybean serve as industrial raw materials in the production of paints, varnish, linoleum, rubber fabrics, adhesive, textile, water proof, fire- fighting foam, insecticides, disinfectants and cosmetics including soaps, creams and massage oil (Kolapo 2011). It is also used in the production of biodiesel (Kolapo 2011; Abraham 2013). Studies have

Sanginga et al. (2002) and Coulibaly et al. (2009) reported that soybean contributes to the enhanced sustainability of intensified cropping structures by improving soil fertility through nitrogen fixation, permitting an extended duration of ground cover in the cropping sequence, protect soil from recurrent erosion, in-situ decay of root residues enrich soil with nutrients and providing beneficial crop residue for animal feeds. For instance 1.2-2.3 fold increase in maize became obtain whilst grown after soybean (Sanginga et al., 2002). The production of soybean in Nigeria is constrained by low yield, low soil fertility (low nitrogen content and poor indigenous rhizobia), high cost of seeds and scarcity of superphosphate (Tefera,