Soil erosion control, green manure and soil improver
Soybean is an N-fixing legume. It can be used as green manure or as a rotation crop in combination with cotton, maize and sorghum. After etablishment, the rapid growth of soybean helps to reduce weeds. In Africa, it is reported to reduce the parasitic weed Striga hermonthica which is very noxious to crops (Giller et al., 2007). In the wet tropics of Australia, soybean is grown specifically for green manure and to protect fallow paddocks from erosion (DAFF, 2010).
Genetically modified soybean
Forage soybean may be obtained from both conventional breeding and genetic engineering (Doo-Hong Min, 2012). The debate about the environmental impact of genetically modified crops is complex and a full discussion of the issue is beyond the scope of this datasheet.