Doctoral student plants the seeds to make edamame a home garden staple
With help from a grant from LINK + LICENSE + LAUNCH, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences student Patrick Bewick is building a graduate research project into a domestic edamame business one seed packet at a time.
As a child, Patrick Bewick looked forward to receiving the home garden seed catalog in the mail every year.
“Our family had a small garden,” he said. “I would go through the seed packet catalogs and pick out one crop a year that was completely new and experimental for us.”
Today, he’s the one marketing new and experimental seed packets to home gardeners throughout Virginia. Bewick, a Ph.D. student in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, believes that edamame – a nutritious, bright-green soybean grown predominantly in China – is perfect for U.S production.
“Edamame is increasing in popularity in the U.S. and is projected to be a $300 million global market by the end of this decade,” Bewick said. “But 90 percent of edamame sold in the U.S. is imported. If we can get home gardeners and small farmers growing it and distributing it to consumers, it may lead to an increase in demand that will help larger producers follow their lead.”
Bewick’s enthusiasm for edamame took root while working as an undergraduate student researcher in the lab of Bo Zhang, associate professor in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, who leads a U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded effort to develop edamame beans for U.S. growers.
He continued to work under Zhang as a graduate student, pursuing research on edamame and soybeans. Zhang’s research team developed VT Sweet, a tasty edamame cultivar that is ideal for commercial production in the mid-Atlantic states. However, widespread adoption has been slow due to the costs of new equipment needed to harvest edamame mechanically.
So with Zhang’s backing, Bewick developed a program to increase the popularity and acceptance of edamame as a domestic crop by introducing to the home gardening market.
According to the National Gardening Association, approximately 55 percent of American households participate in home gardening with millions of people taking it up as a new hobby each year. Americans spend more than $47 billion a year on gardening supplies.
“The number of home gardeners has really increased since the pandemic,” Bewick said. “Edamame is a perfect home garden crop. It’s easy to grow and maintain, has a high yield, and is an excellent vegetable protein that can be used so many ways.”
Bewick wrote a proposal for the project and submitted it to Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties’ LINK + LICENSE + LAUNCH Proof-of-Concept program, which helps faculty and students bring their research to market. Much to his surprise, he received a nearly $50,000 grant to bring his vision to life.
“LINK + LICENSE + LAUNCH is such a great opportunity for people to take the fruits of their labors and turn them into a company,” Bewick said. “It motivates researchers to be more active in getting their work out to the public.”
Bewick produced and distributed approximately 2,000 seed packets to Virginia Cooperative Extension agents and Extension Master Gardeners in 107 offices throughout the commonwealth, encouraging them to plant edamame in home, school, and community gardens. He also gave out packets at an informational booth at Virginia Tech football games. Bewick then surveys the gardeners who received VT Sweet to learn more about how they use it, their challenges, and future demand for the product.
Joanne Royaltey, an Extension master gardener and the consumer horticulture program associate for Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Frederick County office, shared the seeds with thousands of people at garden clubs and community and school events. She has also helped survey community members.
“The response has been very positive,” Royaltey said. “People are hungry to learn more about edamame, and they feel valued when we ask for their participation in the survey. Patrick has been a conduit from the research lab into the community.”
In the future, Bewick hopes to expand the seed company to sell packets in garden stores. He continues to work with Zhang, supporting her research to develop and breed new and improved, herbicide-tolerant soybean varieties for the mid-Atlantic region.
“Patrick is a unique Ph.D. student because he has a business mind that’s full of scientific ideas,” Zhang said. “He has been instrumental in our efforts to bridge the gap between edamame cultivation and market acceptance among home gardeners. His unique skill set, passion, and tireless efforts have significantly enhanced our ability to reach and connect with this demographic.”
Zhang also has encouraged him to pursue other related projects. He’s working to harness soybeans for plant-based Omega-3 fatty acids in nutrition supplements and to improve soil microbe health.
“Dr. Zhang has given me a lot of responsibility in the lab that’s provided real-world experience, like grant-writing, project development and management, market research, and field and lab work, that equates to working in the industry for years,” he said. “I’ve learned so much by just watching the way she manages her grants and her research process. She encourages me to pursue my interests and get what I want out of my future in a way that also benefits the program. The opportunities she’s given me are immeasurable.”
