Water use efficiency of sugar beet cultivars (Beta vulgaris L.) susceptible, tolerant or resistant to Heterodera schachtii (Schmidt) in environments with contrasting infestation levels

Abstract In New Zealand, summer rainfall is unpredictable and usually insufficient to meet crop water requirements. The impact of water availability on yield potential of fodder beet (Beta vulgaris L.) is unknown. A single year, single site replicated field experiment investigating biomass production, water use (WU) and water use efficiency (WUE) was carried out on a deep Templeton silt loam soil at Lincoln in 2013. The experiment had four water treatments: 1: Rain fed control, 2: Full potential evapotranspiration (ETo) replaced weekly, 3: 50% of ETo replaced every 3 weeks and 4: 50% of ETo replaced weekly. Final dry matter (DM) yield differed with treatments, increasing from an average of 24 t/ha for the rain fed crops and those receiving 50% of ETo weekly to 28 t/ha for the full ETo replacement crops and those receiving 50% of ETo once every 3 weeks. Water use more than doubled with full irrigation compared with the rain fed crops (774 vs 316 mm). The WU for the intermediate crops was 483 mm. However, DM yield was higher for the treatment with 50% of ETo replaced every 3 weeks rather than weekly. Water use was related to DM yield and accounted for the observed variation (R2=0.75) in final yield. The WUE decreased with water supply, from 80 kg DM/ha/mm for the rain fed crops to 46 kg DM/ha/mm for the full ETo replacement treatments, and 64 and 57 kg DM/ha/mm for the 50% of ETo replaced weekly and every 3 weeks, respectively. Similar DM yield and marginal WUE for the full ETo treatments and those receiving 50% of ETo replaced every 3 weeks, meant that the most economic WUE was 57 kg DM/ha/mm. Although these results are from a single and site, they suggest that full ETo replacement was uneconomic in this type of soil and therefore partial irrigation to 50% of ETo replaced every 3 weeks may be the optimum for this type of soil. It is recommended to investigate similar treatments on shallow and stony soils. Keywords: Beta vulgaris L., evapotranspiration, water use, water use efficiency, water extraction pattern, water extraction depth.

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Effects of Drip Irrigation Regimes Under Plastic Film on Sugar Beet Yield and Water Use Efficiency in Xinjiang

Applied Engineering in Agriculture ◽

10.13031/aea.13203 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 35 (2) ◽

pp. 231-238 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Binlin Yang ◽

Zhenhua Wang ◽

Xiangwen Xie ◽

Zeyu Wang

Keyword(s):

Sugar Beet ◽

Root Growth ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Irrigation Water ◽

Sugar Yield ◽

Irrigation Regime ◽

Root Yield ◽

Irrigation Frequency ◽

Use Efficiency

Abstract. This 2-yr study analyzed the effects of different irrigation regimes of drip irrigation under plastic film on sugar beet production in Xinjiang, China, and established a binary quadratic regression equation and normalization to describe the maximum root yield, sugar yield, and water use efficiency. Three irrigation frequencies (10, 11, and 12 d) and two irrigation water quotas (45 and 60 mm) were combined to form six treatments. Irrigation frequency had a significant effect on root yield at 1% level of significance in both years, but the effects on sugar yield and water use efficiency were nonsignificant. In both years, the sugar yield resulting from 60 mm irrigation water quota at frequency of 11 d increased by 10.8% and 6.5%, respectively, compared with that resulting from 45 mm irrigation water quota at frequency of 11 d. The regression equation based on the experimental observations indicated that in Xinjiang the optimal irrigation regime was 11 d and 55 mm which saved 21.2% irrigation water for the highest sugar beet yield. The data optimization to determine the weight of roots and evapotranspiration found that root growth exhibited a pattern similar to the aboveground crop growth, and the root growth was most rapid in the period 30 July to 10 August. Keywords: Irrigation frequency, Irrigation water quota, Optimal irrigation regime, Root growth, Root yield, Sugar yield, Water use efficiency.

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