Edamame

Edamame is a rising trend that can help differentiate your market offering Market farmers and wholesale producers alike are becoming more interested in vegetables like specialty eggplants, bok choy, Asian greens and other ethnic crops to meet increasing consumer demand for these products. Edamame may be one of the better options for producers who are considering breaking into this market.

Edamame is a sweet, nutty, nutrient-rich soybean that is harvested when it is still green.  Traditionally an Eastern Asian vegetable, the beans can either be shelled and added to soups and salads or boiled in salt water and served in their pods for a nutritious snack. Many varieties of soybean (Glycine max) can be grown for edamame production, but they are different from field soybeans. Generally, edamame beans are larger, more tender and milder-tasting. In fact, several breeding efforts in the U.S. have been targeted at increasing the sweetness of edamame.

In general, edamame production is similar to field soybean production. The two types of soy are usceptible to the same insect and disease issues. Worth noting, edamame are harvested while they are still green so late-season problems that plague field soy are not an issue.

Edamame soybeans are classified into maturity groups just as field soybeans are. Look for edamame beans in groups III, IV and V. The primary difference in the production of these two types of beans is how they are harvested. Fresh, green edamame beans are often picked by hand, because the scale of production for this vegetable is limited due to the lack of processing facilities in the Midwest. With an optimum harvest window of less than a week, timing is likely the largest factor in maximizing marketable yield of an edamame crop.
(by Marlin Bates, West Central Regional Horticulture Specialist)