Preliminary Study on Effects of Sowing Date on Commodity Quality and Edible Quality of Fresh Waxy Maize

【Objective】This study aimed to investigate the effects of varies sowing dates on the traits of commodity quality and edible quality of fresh waxy maize and to improve the processing capacity of fresh waxy maize in Jilin Province.【Method】A field experiment with four sowing date were set up on May 12 (SD1), May 26 (SD2), June 9 (SD3)and June 22 (SD4) and the mainly popularized waxy maize variety 'Wannuo2000' was used. The main commodity qualities, such as ear length, bald tip length, ear diameter, grain number per row, grain number per ear, as well as the edible quality (seed coat thickness, residue rate, physical quality) were measured with each treatment.【Result】Sowing date could significantly affect the traits of fresh weight of single ear, ear length, ear diameter, grain number per ear, residue rate, hardness, cohesiveness and gumminess of fresh waxy maize, whereas had no significant effect on seed yield, bald tip length, grain number per row and seed coat thickness. With the delay of sowing date, the fresh weight of single ear, ear length, ear diameter and grain number per ear increased first and then decreased, all of which reached the maximum under SD3 treatment, which were 1.23, 1.09, 1.08 and 1.13 times of those higher than those of early sowing (SD1), and 13.10 %, 5.94 %, 3.53 % and 8.06 % higher than those of late sowing (SD4). The edible quality such as residue rate, hardness and gumminess showed decreased first and then increased. The seed coat thickness increased gradually with the delaying sowing date, although the difference between treatments was not significant. Correlation analysis showed there was a positive correlation between the residue rate of fresh corn and grain elasticity, while showed a negative correlation between seed coat thickness and grain cohesion.【Conclusion】More attention should be paid to these changes of commercial and edible qualities with different sowing dates in fresh waxy maize production. Optimum sowing date (SD3) is beneficial to coordinating the commercial and edible qualities of fresh waxy corn, while sowing (SD1) or late sowing (SD4) is adverse to the improvement of commercial and edible qualities in fresh waxy maize production.