SOY
6
SEED
Soybeans are dicotyledonous (dicots), meaning they have two cotyledons (leaves in the seed). Their vascular bundles are arranged in concentric circles and their roots develop from the radicle. They also have reticulate arrangements of major leaf veins, often have secondary growth, and have more stomata on the lower epidermis of leaves. Soy is also an exalbuminous seed.
ORIGINS
Soybeans originate from Southeast Asia and were first domesticated by Chinese farmers around 1100 BC. By first century AD, soybeans were grown in Japan and many other countries.
TEMPERAMENT
Soybeans thrive in warm environment. They are usually planted in the spring, 2 weeks after the average last frost date when the soil has warmed to at least 60ºF. Soy can be platned earlier in warm-winter regions, as they grow best where daytime temperature averates in the 70ºs.
LIFE CYCLE
The system of soybean growth stages divides plant development into vegetative (V) and reproductive (R) stages. The vegetative stages are numbered according to how many fully-developed trifoliate leaves are present. The reproductive (R) stages begin at flowering and include pod development, seed development, and plant maturation.
Counterarchitecture of Soy
