Morphological features of sugar beet and its yield quality

Abstract

W warunkach polowych oceniono cechy morfologiczne roślin buraka cukrowego, zdrowotność oraz plonowanie. W trakcie sezonu mierzono takie cechy, jak długość, szerokość, liczbę liści oraz wysokość główek korzeni. Celem badań było określenie wpływu cech pokroju roślin buraka na parametry plonowania. Wyliczono współczynniki korelacji między cechami morfologicznymi a cechami plonowania. Wykazano negatywny wpływ zwiększonych główek korzenia na wielkość i jakość plonu buraka cukrowego. Niewielkie uszkodzenia liści także negatywnie wpływały na gromadzenie cukru w korzeniach, a delikatne uszkodzenia korzeni sprzyjały jego gromadzeniu. Stwierdzono dodatnią korelację między jakością plonu a długością blaszki liścia oraz liczbą dojrzałych i starzejących się liści, co było widoczne w lipcu i sierpniu, oraz powierzchnią liści odmian w typie normalno-cukrowym a masą plonu korzeni. Nie stwierdzono istotnego wpływu wielkości powierzchni blaszek liściowych i ogólnej liczby liści mierzonych w kolejnych terminach pomiarów na plon.The field experiment was realized in 2012 in Kondratowice (Dolnośląskie) on the KWS-Lochow area. In this study six cultivars in three types of sugar beet were used (sugar type Z type: Danuśka KWS, Natura KWS, Sława KWS, normal type – N type: 2B934, Julietta, Elvira KWS; and a type with an emphasis on the root yield – E type: Primadonna KWS and Oliviera KWS). In the middle of June and July and in the end of August the number of leaves per plant was counted and sizes of roots’ crowns were measured for randomly chosen 20 plants. Leaves were also measured (petiole length, leaf length and width, and leaf surface area). The health condition of foliage was estimated each month, a six-grade scale (0–5) for leaves was used (0 – meant healthy, 5 – disease symptoms on more than 70% of the leaf surface). Health quality of roots was evaluated in September and for this purpose a five-point scale (0–4) was used, where 0 – meant healthy roots, and 4 – the roots completely destroyed. The quantity and quality of yield were estimated in an automatic system Venema. The aim of the work was the estimation of morphological features of sugar beet plants in the field experiment and finding correlations (p = 0.05) between them and yield parameters. Average root yields were over 100 t·ha⁻¹. Sugar type cultivars (Z) showed an average sugar content 16.49–18.29%, but cultivar 2B934 (E) – only 13.2%. Minute C. beticola and R. beticola symptoms were observed on leaves, they were negatively correlated with sugar content. Correlation between root infection and sugar content showed that delicate scab symptoms on the roots’ surfaces can be a reason of greater sugar content. It was found negative correlation between yield quality and root’s crown sizes, especially for N-type and E-type varieties but not for Z-type. The study indicates that a greater number of young leaves appearing in July promotes deterioration of the roots by excessive accumulation of sodium. It was observed that in July leaf length contributes to the reduction in the yield of technological sugar, and in August can be seen more efficient assimilation in long leaves expressed as a sugar content in the roots, but the combined correlation of the above characteristic with the content of molasses-building elements explains the decrease in the yield of technological sugar content. Positive correlations were found between yield quality and such features as leaf length and number of mature leaves as well as senescent leaves. The correlations were distinct in July and August. This can be partly explained by favourable position of long leaves and better use of sun energy. The leaf area was positively correlated with a root yield for sugar-type (Z-type) varieties