Our work on soybeans is intended to provide information bearing on the following questions: (1) Can soybeans be cultivated in our country at expenses tolerable to agriculture; and (2) if not, what must be undertaken in order to achieve this objective? We would like to insert the soybean as a suitable leguminous plant in our crop rotation (in 1975, 61 % of the fields in Switzerland were cultivated with small grains and 17% with corn) and to benefit from this rich source of protein (as animal and perhaps as human nutrition). The study of growth, development and morphological yield formation and of the effects of fructification are important in determining the agricultural potential of the soybean in Switzerland.