These past few days have not been too eventful, as I have just been researching at work: “Prospects of Vegetable Soybean in India and its Market Acceptance.” For the next two weeks I will be researching and writing a report, using some sources given to me by my advisers and the library here and, of course, the internet. It does feel a bit like a long school day; I come to work around 8 AM, have a lunch and tea break, and research until about 4:30. I do know, however, that it is important to be able to do this sort of research about what has already been done in the field, and I am learning a lot, especially since I know very little about the specifics of farming or plant biology or soybean marketing to begin with. I am just looking forward to a little more activity during the day – I get pretty sleepy, especially with the heat and humidity. A little fact I came across… The best fertilizer to use if one wants the sweetest vegetable soybeans is half chemical, half cow manure or fermented pig dung.
(This is what my cubicle is looking like)
There are a lot of different angles to take in this report, and I hope I can do a cohesive job of it – I wasn’t really left with many specifics. I assume I should focus somewhat on improved taste, as I will be doing a little experiment on that a few weeks down the line. But I’m also interested in some expanded uses for vegetable soybean (or edamame), like what it can be a substitution for (lima beans, butter beans, green peas). So I’m looking into some India-friendly recipes with edamame. While perusing foodgawker.com, I came across a few that look pretty good. Even if I don’t get the chance to try them here, I might at home! Like [ginger apple quinoa] or [feta blah]. I don’t think I’ve ever actually had a vegetable soybean, so I’m looking forward to actually trying one myself after the harvest.
Yesterday we did get to take a trip out to the field because the AVRDC mungbeans had begun to germinate (and the soybeans are on the way). We went with Usha as she brought a special bacteria, Rhizobia, to mix with the water for the mungbeans. Since they are legumes, they have special nitrogen-fixing nodules on their roots, which adding the Rhizobia will enhance. This means they don’t need to be fertilized as much and can be used as a green manure after harvest by being plowed into the soil to restore nutrients. An ICRISAT employee was there to do the watering as we watched (he didn’t want us to try, since the watering cans were heavy). Usha told us that ICRISAT has a pool of general employees of about 300, which are rotated randomly every 15 days to the various offices/departments on the campus. Usha wasn’t really sure why they do that, as it means they have to retrain the employees each rotation.
After work, Sahima and I rented a tennis court and racquets for 50 rupees (a little over $1) and tried to play for an hour. After a shower, I met some friends (Mari, Uma, Amita, Arvind, Mellind, Harshal) for dinner, a walk afterwards, card tricks and home-brewed chai in the dorm.
At the tea break yesterday during work, someone brought in jackfruit, so I got to try that for the first time. They’re yellow and slimy and about the size of a fist but more oblong, and really fibrous and sweet (almost too much for me). You eat them in one bite and then spit out the pit, which can apparently then be boiled or fried. I also bought some chocolate chip cookie things from the little convenience store on campus…
“The world’s best moulded chocolate chip cookies”
I love walking through the fields, which are outside the main part of campus but still within the fence of the compound, but today one of my colleagues suggested I not do so alone, just in case. So I suppose they will be a little less frequent now, unless I find a walking buddy.
The sky was really pretty yesterday...
Today it was one of Dr. Satish's last day at the AVRDC office (he is transferring somewhere else) so we went to lunch as an office today. Then during tea, they had a little party with cakes and snacks, and gave him a few little gifts and a card we had all signed.
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