Effects of Sowing Date on Yield and Quality of Broccoli Florets for Freezing

In many countries, the frozen broccoli industry is based on the production of florets resulting from the separation of the inflorescence components. There is little information on the performance of presently used cultivars for this purpose. Three broccoli cultivars (`Arcadia', `High Sierra', and `Viking') were sown every 2 weeks in five dates, from midsummer to autumn, to measure effects on field and industry yields, and in quality of florets. All cultivars behaved similarly, showing a significant decrease in yields (from >20 to <10 t·ha –1 ), an increase in industry wastage (from <40% to >55%), and marked changes in quality of the florets (color, diameter, uniformity of flowers, etc.) with sowing dates associated with a slow degree-day summation.