Edamame [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] exhibits a promising opportunity for Indiana farmers. Its high nutritional value and nitrogen-fixing capabilities reduce input costs while benefiting crop rotation systems. The crop’s short duration facilitates sustainable practices like cover cropping. Research on edamame cultivation for Midwest local markets remains limited despite increasing sales and consumption. Therefore, this study aimed to explore potential cultivars suited for the fresh and direct consumer market and identify cultural and cultivation practices that minimize weed-crop competition here in Indiana. A field experiment was established at Meigs Horticulture Research Farm, Lafayette, Indiana, which evaluated three different row spacings (7 inch, 15 inch, and 30 inch) on growth and yield of six edamame cultivars (Chiba Green, Sayamusume, BeSweet 292, Midori Giant, Tohya, and Karikachi). This study was designed as an RCBD split-plot design with 4 replications, with different row spacings as main plots, and variety as the split-plot. Leaf area index (LAI), dry weight of weed, total pod count, pod count, and fresh weight of marketable and non-marketable pods were measured. All data were analyzed with R Studio. We hypothesized a) standard row spacing (30 inch) would improve edamame seed yield and productivity compared to narrow row spacings (7 and 15 inch); b) narrow row spacing would reduce the weed growth and density of common weed species compared to standard row spacing; c) standard row spacing may increase yield of edamame but would increase weed-crop competition. Our results from one year are in agreement with our hypotheses. Standard row spacing resulted in the greatest pod yield, but highest weed dry weight. Specifically, 30 inch row spacing produced significantly greater pod count (27) per plant compared to 7, and 15 inch row spacing (9 and 16 pods per plant, respectively). Also, 30 inch row spacing resulted in the greatest marketable pod count (23) per plant compared to 7 and 15 inch row spacing (6 and 12 pods per plant, respectively). 30 inch row spacing led to significantly greater weed dry weight (4.27 g) compared to 7 and 15 inch row spacing (1.01g and 2.81g, respectively). Lowest weed dry weight (1.01 g) at 7-inch row spacing suggests that narrow row spacing might help suppress weed growth. The greatest LAI was measured at 7-inch row spacing (5.26) compared to others (3.77 and 3 for 15 and 30 inch row spacing). BeSweet 292 performed better in terms of yield parameters compared to other varieties.
