Edamame, a vegetable soybean harvested at the immature stage with green pods, has gained popularity in the United States due to its high nutritional value and appealing taste, resulting in growing consumer demand. However, over 70% of the edamame consumed in the U.S. is currently imported from East Asia. To support domestic production and reduce reliance on imports, identifying suitable varieties and production windows is essential—especially in regions like Florida, where subtropical conditions allow for multi-season cropping. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of sixteen commercial edamame varieties (maturity groups 0–V) across South Florida’s two primary bean production seasons: spring (early February to mid-May) and fall (early October to mid-December). The objectives were to (a) identify varieties best suited to South Florida’s subtropical climate, and (b) determine the optimal growing season for each variety. Growth parameters (emergence rate, plant height, canopy diameter, leaf area, and nodes per plant) and agronomic traits (fresh pod yield and 10-pod weight) were measured to assess adaptation and productivity. In the spring, ‘UA-Kirksey’ achieved the highest yield at 5.0 t/ha, while ‘Midori Giant’ had the lowest at 0.8 t/ha. In the fall, ‘Chiba Green’ produced the highest yield at 3.2 t/ha, and ‘Karikachi #3’ the lowest at 0.5 t/ha. Six varieties, i.e., ‘KAS 355-11’, ‘Kahala’, ‘Karikachi #3’, ‘Shirofumi’, ‘UA-Kirksey’, and ‘Young Soybean’ yielded significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) in spring compared to fall, while no significant seasonal differences were observed for the other varieties. These findings demonstrate the importance of selecting season-appropriate varieties to maximize yield potential and production efficiency in subtropical regions like South Florida, offering a promising strategy to support local edamame cultivation.
