Edamame has quickly become the second largest soy-food consumed in the U.S. (around 25,000 to 30,000 tons annually), but no less than 70% of edamame rely on imports. To reverse this condition, stakeholders identified the need for improved varieties to overcome the main barriers including mechanical harvest, weed management and consumer acceptance. Therefore, the objective of this project is to breed new edamame varieties with better adaptation than commercial cultivars with exotic background, and improved appearance and flavor. We evaluated eleven vegetable soybean genotypes (including one commercial check, UA Kirksey) for differences in yield, pod size, and resistance to local insect, bacterial, and fungal pressures in order to identify genotypes with the greatest potential for use in commercial edamame production. Although there were variations in average pod length (42.1 - 53.6 mm), width (10.9 - 12.7 mm), and thickness (6.29 - 7.34 mm) among the genotypes, only pod length showed statistical significance. In addition, genotype significantly affected fresh pod yield. The prevalence of specific insect pests varied by location and year and included soybean aphid, potato leafhopper, Mexican bean beetle, as well as a complex of stink bugs and lepidopteran larvae. For each of these insect pests, significant differences were observed. Some plant diseases observed on the edamame genotypes included: downy mildew, bacterial pustule, Fusarium pod rot, Cercospora blight and purple seed stain, and damping off. Overall, VT Sweet showed particularly favorable yield, and resilience to native pests compared to the commercial check, UA-Kirksey. They also had no significant difference for overall-liking, sweetness intensity, taste, or texture, however, VT Sweet has better aroma than UA Kirksey among all sensory traits. Therefore, VT Sweet showed strong potential to increase the availability of varieties that can be used for commercial edamame production in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Development of edamame (vegetable soybean) varieties to increase domestic production in the Mid-Atlantic region

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