Biography of a

Soybean
By: Shelby Hagen

Scientific Name

Glycine max

Nutritional Value
Soybeans are
high in fiber and
protein and are a
good source of
calcium.
Soybeans are
also a valuable
source of oil.
Soybeans
contain a lot of
Potassium.

Growing Cycle
1 - Dormant Seed
Resting stage; needs water, oxygen, and the
right temperature

2 - Germinating Seed
Root pushes through seed coat. Top part of
root becomes stem. Stem carries seed coat
and seed leaves with it. Seed coat falls off;
seed leaves provide food for plant. Leaves
grow bet ween seed leaves.

3 - Seedling

To become mature, plants need water, air, the

right temperature, sunlight, and soil.

5 - Flowers Pollinated
Grow into bean pods. New seeds grow inside
bean pods.

6 - Bean Pods
Dry up when seeds are full-grown. Then
farmers remove the beans. Bean plant also
dries up and dies.

7 - Soybeans
Food stored in seed leaves. When food is used
up, leaves dry up, and drop off. More leaves
grow from buds on stem as plant grows
taller. New leaves trap energy from the sun
and make sugar. Plant uses energy and sugar
to grow.

4 - Mature Plant

The harvested soybeans are then sent to

different parts of the world to be used in
many ways.

8 - New beans are planted and

the cycle begins again

Farming Techniques/
Technologies Used
First you have to use a planter to put seed in the ground.
When it is growing, use cultivator to take weeds out.
When matured, har vest with a combine.
George Washington Carver realized the benefits for soybeans for preserving
good quality soil. Mr. Car ver encouraged cotton farmers to "rotate" their crops
in a three-year plan so that peanuts, soybeans, sweet potatoes or other plants
would replenish the soil with nitrogen and minerals for t wo seasons, and then
the third year farmers planted cotton. To the surprise of many farmers, this
produced a far better cotton crop than they had seen for many years!

Where & When it was first

Domesticated & by Whom

Soybeans were first domesticated by

Chinese farmers around 1100 BC.

Why Soybeans Are

Significant to Big History
Soybeans are significant to Big History
because agriculture is easily taken for
granted, but perhaps it is the most
important human invention and
soybeans are a big product of the
agricultural world. Soybeans have
many uses and are used all over the
world.

Sources
http://www.ncsoy.org/ABOUTSOYBEANS/History-of-Soybeans.aspx
http://www.ilsoy.org/sites/default/
files/documents/840.pdf