Abstract: To assess the influence of sowing dates on the yield and quality of foxtail millet, an experiment was conducted in 2022 using three super-early maturing foxtail millet mutants, xiaomi1, xiaomi3, and xiaomi4. We examined the yield and quality of the three mutants under different sowing date treatments, D1 (April 11th), D2 (April 29th), and D3 (May 17th). The results showed that compared to the D1, the duration of the whole growth period, as well as the seedling stage, was shortened in the D2 and D3 treatments for all the three mutants. The duration of the jointing stage initially increased and then decreased, but without any change in the duration of the filling and maturity stages. Sowing date had a significant impact on the panicle length, panicle diameter, and panicle weight of the three super-early maturing foxtail millet mutants. The panicle length and weight under D3 significantly increased compared to that under D1 (P<0.05). Furthermore, fat content significantly increased, while protein content rose initially and then declined significantly, and the contents of amylose, flavonoids, and carotenoids significantly decreased in D2 and D3 compared to D1 (P<0.05). Panicle length and panicle weight were negatively correlated with fat and flavonoid contents, and positively correlated with protein content. Daily mean temperature, ultraviolet intensity, and sunshine duration significantly affected panicle length and weight of foxtail millet, while daily mean temperature, sunshine duration, total solar irradiance and ultraviolet intensity significantly affected the contents of fat, protein and amylose (P<0.05). Sowing in mid-April could improve the quality of foxtail millet, while sowing in mid-May could increase the panicle length and weight of foxtail millet.

Key words: foxtail millet, yield, quality, meteorological factor, sowing date