Possibility of Vegetable Soybean Cultivation in North Europe

Abstract

The interest in cultivation of vegetable soybeans, also known as edamame, in the North Europe region has increased during the last years due to their high nutritional value and excellent taste properties. During the last decade the possible growing area for soybeans has expanded towards the north due to changes in climate as well as breeding efforts. In order to adopt vegetable soybean growing technology for commercial cultivation in the North Europe region, independent experiments were carried out in Latvia and Norway. This study shows that vegetable soybean is a crop with potential for successful cultivation at higher latitudes, such as the Nordic–Baltic region in North Europe, with yield levels comparable to other regions of the world. We observed that hydrothermal conditions had the most significant impact on soybean plant development. Sowing or planting as early as possible is a key to obtaining sufficient yield levels. In the study, the vegetation period needed to be at least 123 to 127 days, with growing degree days (GDD) at least 650, and hydrothermal coefficient (HTC) above 1. Under such conditions, the obtained marketable yield in Latvia ranged between 3 to 10 t ha−1 during the period of 2017–2019, and 1.2 to 10.5 t ha−1 in Norway. Planting density of 20–25 plants per m2 appeared to be optimal. The variety ‘Midori Giant’ showed the most stable yield outcome, but ‘Chiba Green’ also gave a satisfactory yield.

Assessment of Early, Mid-Early, and Mid-Late Soybean (Glycine max) Varieties in Northern Poland

“…Cultivation of legumes is of great importance for the application of crop rotation and is an important element of biodiversity. With the progression of climate warming, many scientists and crop experts from a variety of offices began to test soybean varieties in northern latitudes [3,12,24,25,37]. However, in order to be successful in cultivation in northern latitudes, one needs to grow stable varieties of the proper vegetation length [3].…”

“…Soybean is a short-day plant, which is especially susceptible to the latitude of the growing site [2,3]. It's suitability to the region is restricted by long daytime duration, low temperature at the time of germination and flowering, and amount of rainfall [4].…”

“…Temperatures above 35 • C may decrease seed mass, whilst temperatures below 17 • C can inhibit seed growth [11]. Moreover, according to Zeipina et al [3], the choice of variety with proper vegetation length plays a crucial role in a cultivation success in higher latitudes (see also [12]). On the other hand, in many agronomic studies, it was raised that management plays an essential role in achieving cultivation in northern latitudes [3,5,[13][14][15].…”

“…Moreover, according to Zeipina et al [3], the choice of variety with proper vegetation length plays a crucial role in a cultivation success in higher latitudes (see also [12]). On the other hand, in many agronomic studies, it was raised that management plays an essential role in achieving cultivation in northern latitudes [3,5,[13][14][15]. For instance, early sowing dates have been found to increase seed yield and fat content, while late sowing tends to enhance protein content [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23].…”

Global Status of Vegetable Soybean

“…Canada continues to export food grade soybeans, including vegetable soybeans to the Asian market ( (accessed on 1 February 2022)). A study conducted in Latvia and Norway [ 39 ] showed the potential for successful cultivation of vegetable soybeans at higher latitudes, such as the Nordic–Baltic region in North Europe, with yield levels comparable to other regions of the world.…”