Harvest when pods give a rattling sound when shaken. Delayed harvesting leads to pod shattering and poor seed germination later.
The mature plants may be uprooted or cut at ground level and loosely staked for later threshing.
Farmers are advised never to heap harvested soybeans when they are damp as it reduces seed quality. Harvest in dry conditions.
Threshing: The harvested plants should be spread on a platform and sun-dried to 14-15% moisture content before threshing. Threshing can be done manually for small quantities or mechanically.
It is important that seeds of different varieties are threshed on different days to avoid mixing of the varieties.
Storage: Dry the seeds thoroughly to about 10% moisture content. It should not be possible to dent the beans with your teeth. Store grains in sacks or bags in a well-ventilated store.
Store seeds for planting in plastic bags to prevent moisture absorption and keep the seeds in a cool dry part of the house on raised benches. At every planting time, use seed harvested in the pre-seeding season to avoid poor germination.
