| Dedication | 第1-5页 |
| Certification | 第5-6页 |
| Acknowledgement | 第6-7页 |
| 英文摘要 | 第7-13页 |
| Table of contents | 第13-16页 |
| List of tables | 第16-19页 |
| List of figures | 第19-20页 |
| Abbreviations | 第20-21页 |
| CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION | 第21-25页 |
| 1．1 Basic definitions | 第21页 |
| 1．2 Vegetable soybeans | 第21页 |
| 1．3 Edamame quality | 第21-23页 |
| 1．3．1 Pod and seed morphology | 第22页 |
| 1．3．2 Pod color | 第22页 |
| 1．3．3 Organoleptic quality and nutritional value | 第22-23页 |
| 1．4 Vegetable-type and grain-type soybeans: Main differences | 第23-24页 |
| 1．5 Justification and objectives of the investigation | 第24-25页 |
| CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE | 第25-31页 |
| CHAPTER 3 MATERIALS AND METHODS | 第31-39页 |
| 3．1 Plant culture and treatment | 第31页 |
| 3．2 Sampling methods | 第31-32页 |
| 3．3 Growth measurement and biomass data collection | 第32页 |
| 3．4 Whole plants yields and yield components data collection | 第32-33页 |
| 3．5 Pods dimensions | 第33页 |
| 3．6 Pod thickness relative growth rate | 第33页 |
| 3．7 Plant physiological traits | 第33-34页 |
| 3．8 Seed hardness | 第34页 |
| 3．9 Hardness-Panel evaluation | 第34-35页 |
| 3．10 Chlorophyll determination | 第35页 |
| 3．10．1 Reagent | 第35页 |
| 3．10．2 Procedure | 第35页 |
| 3．10．3 Calculation | 第35页 |
| 3．11 Carbohydrates determination | 第35-38页 |
| 3．11．1 Sample preparation | 第35-36页 |
| 3．11．2 Starch analysis | 第36-37页 |
| 3．11．2．1 Procedure | 第36-37页 |
| 3．11．2．2 Calculation | 第37页 |
| 3．11．3 Soluble sugars | 第37-38页 |
| 3．11．3．1 Procedure | 第37-38页 |
| 3．11．3．2 Calculation | 第38页 |
| 3．12 Experimental design and data analysis | 第38-39页 |
| CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND ANALYSES | 第39-79页 |
| 4．1 Seed and pod development | 第39页 |
| 4．1．1 Seed filling rate | 第39页 |
| 4．1．2 Seed and pod wall dry weight | 第39页 |
| 4．2 Carbohydrates occurrence during seed development | 第39-42页 |
| 4．3 Reproductive growth stage, seed and pod color | 第42页 |
| 4．4 Pod wall and seed moistures | 第42页 |
| 4．5 Traits and characteristics of spring vegetable soybeans Hua Chun 18, 9701, Tai 75, and AJMD cultivars | 第42-45页 |
| 4．6 Physiological features and growth characteristics of Hua Chun 18, 9701, Tai 75, and AJMD cultivars | 第45-46页 |
| 4．7 Color characteristics of Hua Chun 18, 9701, Tai 75, and AJMD cultivars | 第46-49页 |
| 4．8 Mean pods length, pods width, and pod thickness of one-, two-, and three-seeded pods for Hua Chun 18, 9701, Tai 75, and AJMD cultivars | 第49页 |
| 4．9 Phenotypic correlation coefficients between pods dimensions and pods weight for one-, two-, and three-seeded pods of Hua Chun 18, 9701, Tai 75, and AJMD cultivars | 第49-53页 |
| 4．10 Agronomic performances and yield components for Hua Chun 18, 9701, Tai 75, and AJMD cultivars and correlation coefficients between yield components for each cultivar | 第53-55页 |
| 4．11 Relationship between the number of days after flowering and the thickness of pods | 第55-57页 |
| 4．12 Hardness of cooked seeds of four soybean cultivars harvested at different days between R6 and R7 growth stages | 第57-58页 |
| 4．13 Variations in values of correlation coefficients among vegetable soybeans evaluation quality parameters | 第58-72页 |
| 4．14 Chlorophyll concentration in pods | 第72-79页 |
| CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION | 第79-85页 |
| 5．1 Physiology of vegetable soybean and period of harvesting | 第79-81页 |
| 5．1．1 Seed and pod wall: dry and fresh weight relationship | 第79-80页 |
| 5．1．2 Seed filling rate and seed moisture content in relation to harvest period | 第80-81页 |
| 5．2 Biochemistry of vegetable soybean and period of harvesting | 第81-83页 |
| 5．2．1 Starch as indicator of harvest period | 第81-82页 |
| 5．2．2 Soluble sugars as indicator of harvest period | 第82-83页 |
| 5．2．3 Chlorophyll as indicator of harvest period | 第83页 |
| 5．3 Morphology and physical aspect of vegetable soybean in relation to harvest period | 第83-84页 |
| 5．3．1 Pod thickness | 第83-84页 |
| 5．3．2 Seed hardness | 第84页 |
| 5．4 Vegetable soybean and commercial value | 第84-85页 |
| CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS | 第85-87页 |
| REFERENCES Literature cited | 第87-95页 |
