Crop Water Productivity of Sugarbeet as Affected by Tillage

Abstract

One of today's greatest challenges of irrigated agriculture is to produce more food and fiber with less water, which can be accomplished by maximizing crop water productivity (CWP). A study was conducted to evaluate and compare the effect of conventional tillage (CT) and strip tillage (ST) on crop water use (CWU) and CWP of sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.) on clay loam soil in the northern Great Plains (NGP). Seasonal CWU and CWP for sugarbeet root and sucrose yields were determined for the 2006, 2007, and 2008 growing seasons according to the water balance and CWP equations under CT and ST practices. No significant differences due to tillage were found for CWU of sugarbeet. In 2006, CWP for root yield was significantly greater in ST relative to CT due to wind damage early in the spring which reduced sugarbeet plant population in the CT. The mean CWP for root yield across three growing seasons was10% greater for ST than for CT due to the protected soil-plant environment under the ST. The ST greatly reduces wind erosion and the related plant damage. The ST system used 0.0093 m 3 and 0.061 m 3 of irrigation water less than CT system to produce 1 kg of sugarbeet root and 1 kg of sucrose yield, respectively, throughout the growing season. We concluded that ST can be used to produce sugarbeet root yield and CWP comparable to CT or even in some instances greater than CT in areas that are prone to wind damage to sugarbeet seedlings.

Soil seedbed engineering and its impact on germination and establishment in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) as affected by seed–soil contact

“…Dense soil surface layers commonly found on no-tillage managed fields can adversely affect establishment due to a low emergence force (Koch, 2009), although literature in this area is sparse. Strip tillage procedures are used for partial or complete removal of the soil surface layer by tilling narrow strips to control erosion (for both wind and water), reduce evaporation and avoid loss of soil organic matter (Jabro et al ., 2014). Similar yields for sugar beet have been reported compared with intensive tillage.…”

Strip Tillage and High‐Efficiency Irrigation Applied to a Sugarbeet–Barley Rotation

“…A similar relationship was not observed among interaction means for harvest population or sucrose concentration suggesting that root size is the yield component responsible for the interaction for sucrose yield. Jabro et al (2014) reported that, as a result of observed differences in root and adjusted sucrose yield, the ST system required 0.0093m 3 and 0.061m 3 less irrigation water than the CT system to produce 1 kg of sugarbeet root and 1 kg of sucrose yield, respectively, under MESA irrigation management.…”

Zonal Tillage as Innovative Element of the Technology of Growing Winter Wheat: A Field Experiment under Low Rainfall Conditions

“…ST has a special enhancing effect on water in soil [13]. According to Jabro et al [14], the crop water productivity for sugar beet ST technology was 10% higher than for CT technology. Hasan et al [15] and Alhajj Ali et al [16] recommend simplified soil tillage methods also for wheat production, including zero tillage and ST, due to the highest water productivity and least total water used.…”