Physio-biochemical and Agronomic Changes of Two Sugar Beet Cultivars Grown in Saline Soil as Influenced by Potassium Fertilizer

Abstract

In salt-affected soils, more than one approach should be adopted for minimizing the salinity impacts and enhancing the land productivity. The most effective practices in crop management under saline soil are choosing the plant type and variety and exploiting the best nutrient tactics. Under two soil salinity levels (3.54 and 9.28 dS m−1), representing low and high salinity, respectively), two sugar beet cultivars (Romulus and Francesca) were fertilized with three potassium (K) rates (48, 96, and 144 kg K ha−1), in addition to the check treatment (0 kg K ha−1). During two seasons of 2018/2019 and 2019/2020, treatments were distributed in a split-split plot design based on a randomized complete block arrangement with three replicates. Several physio-biochemical and agronomic traits, as well as leaf mineral contents and juice quality, were assessed. Briefly, findings illustrated that K at a rate of 144 kg ha−1 enhanced cell membrane stability, relative water content, and performance index by 1.17, 1.01, and 2.73 times, respectively, in high salinity soil, compared to low salinity × no K addition. Under high salinity, the addition of 48 and 144 kg K ha−1 recorded the highest values of total phenolic content and total antioxidant activity, respectively. In high salinity soil, K supplying (144 kg ha−1) caused the maximum improvements in gross and white sugar content with a decrease of 42.0% in sodium content and an increase of 35.9% in root yield ha−1. Romulus cultivar fertilized with 144 kg K ha−1 had the maximum relative water content, Fv/Fm, and performance index. Francesca cultivar with 144 kg K ha−1 was the potent combination for increasing total soluble sugars, total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, and total antioxidant activity. Romulus cultivar fertilized with 144 kg K ha−1 was the best practice for improving all agronomic traits of sugar beet. It could be concluded that a high potassium rate, i.e., 144 kg K ha−1, reduced the injury ionic impacts of saline soils along with improving the genetic makeup of sugar beet cultivars, expressed in sugar yield and quality. However, all other attempts for reclamation of the saline soil should be adopted for increasing the potentiality of K fertilizer and enhancing gene expressions of different sugar beet varieties.

Effect of Potassium Silicate and Irrigation on Grain Nutrient Uptake and Water Use Efficiency of Wheat Under Calcareous Soils

“…Mineral nutrition plays a beneficial role in developing environmental stress tolerance in crop plants (Saudy 2014(Saudy , 2015Jan et al 2017). Potassium (K + ) is a phyto-beneficial macro-element that performs a pivotal role in organizing physio-biochemical processes to support plant survival against abiotic stresses, including salinity (Merwad 2016;Abd El-Mageed et al 2022). Adequate K + nutrition has been shown to mediate PM H + -ATPase activation to increase protons extrusion under abiotic stresses (Weng et al 2020).…”

Natural Plant By-Products and Mulching Materials to Suppress Weeds and Improve Sugar Beet (Beta vulgaris L.) Yield and Quality

“…The total global cultivated acreage of about 4.4 Mt produces approximately 253 Mt of sugar beet roots that provides ~ 30% of the gross world's requirements of white sugar (FAO 2022). However, sugar beet production worldwide is frequently faced ecological challenges (Abd El-Mageed et al 2022;Makhlouf et al 2022) and biotic stresses such as weeds. Since sugar beet is highly sensitive to weed competition during the initial growth stages, effective weed control should be implemented (Jalali and Salehi 2013;Marwitz et al 2014).…”

The Changes in Yield Response Factor, Water Use Efficiency, and Physiology of Sunflower Owing to Ascorbic and Citric Acids Application Under Mild Deficit Irrigation

“…The predicted global warming and climate changes indubitably has adverse effects such as drought, salinity and nutrient deficiency on growth and productivity of economic crops (Saudy and Mubarak 2015;Abd El-Mageed et al leaf water potential, promoting stomatal closure, decrease in leaf photosynthesis, and weakness in nutrient uptake are the most physiological phenomena associated with water deficit (Bresson et al 2015;Yan et al 2016;El-Metwally et al 2021;Abd-Elrahman et al 2022;Makhlouf et al 2022). Decrease in sunflower yield was reported by Saudy et al (2021a); El-Bially et al (2022a, b) as 22.4-42.8% owing to water deficit stress.…”