ROOT YIELD AND QUALITY OF SUGAR BEET IN RELATION TO FOLIAR APPLICATION OF MICRONUTRIENTS

Transcription

1 Annals of West University of Timişoara, ser. Biology, 2015, vol XVIII (2), pp ROOT YIELD AND QUALITY OF SUGAR BEET IN RELATION TO FOLIAR APPLICATION OF MICRONUTRIENTS Ghorbanali RASSAM *, Maryam DASHTI, Alireza DADKHAH, Asghar KHOSHNOOD YAZDI Department of Plant production, Complex Higher Education of Shirvan, Iran *Corresponding author Received 7 October 2015; accepted 2 November 2015 ABSTRACT In order to investigate the effects of micronutrients on quantitative and qualitative yield traits of sugar beet, an experiment was performed during growing season of in the Esfarayen region, located in the North-East of Iran. Treatments consisted of three levels of mixture of micronutrients (spraying with 0, 1, 2 L ha -1 ) and the number of applications (once 45 days after planting; twice, 45 and 75 days after planting; three times, respectively 45, 75 and 105 days after planting). The results revealed the highest root yield was obtained with the spraying 2 L ha -1 of the micronutrients. Foliar spraying of micronutrients significantly increased content of sucrose and refined sugar compared to the control. The highest percentage of sucrose and refined sugar (75% and 74.45%) was recorded by spraying of mixture of micronutrients twice at the rate of 2 L ha -1. Micronutrient concentrations and the number of applications as well as their interaction effect had significant effects on the content of molasses forming substances. The highest amount of these compounds occurred in the control treatment and reduced by applying the micronutrient. Foliar spray of micronutrients added to the refined sugar yield so that in all times of application the highest refined sugar yield was obtained by 2 L ha -1 spraying. Generally, it could be recommended that fertilizing sugar beet plants by spraying 2 L ha -1 of the micronutrients at 45, 75 and 105 days after planting produce the highest productivity and quality of sugar beet under this study. KEY WORDS: Sugar beet, Micronutrient, Foliar, Fertilizing. INTRODUCTION Mineral nutrition of crops is among the most important factors determining the quantity and quality of agricultural products (Mousavi et al, 2011). Accordingly, every year large amounts of chemical fertilizers are applied to increase crop yield. A heavy amount of fertilizers includes nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The excess of application of which in the agroecosystems destroys the food balance in the soil (Adiloglu, 2003). The consequence of such a situation is the deficiency of micronutrients in the soil. Calcareous soils of arid and semi-arid, conditions that prevail in the most areas of Iran, contain low organic matter, high ph and high amounts of calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) that limit the availability to micronutrients for plants (Ziaeian & Malakouti, 87

2 RASSAM et al: Root yield and quality of sugar beet in relation to foliar application of micronutrients 2001; Çelik et al, 2010; Mousavi et al, 2011). Therefore, the lack of micronutrient in these soils is more evident. Micronutrient elements such as manganese (Mn), boron (B), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and iron (Fe) play a major role in improvement agricultural production and quality (Ziaeian & Malakouti, 2001). Iron deficiency impairs many plant physiological processes because it is involved in chlorophyll and protein synthesis (Fahad et al, 2014). Boron promotes the stability and rigidity of cell wall structure and therefore, supports the shape and strength of the plant cell (Brown et al, 2002). Zinc is an essential micronutrient necessary for sugar regulation and assorted enzymatic activity associated with plant growth, synthesis of chlorophyll, carbonic anhydrase activity and uptake of nitrogen and protein quality (Cakmak, 2008; Khosa et al, 2011; Fahad et al, 2014). Manganese plays vital roles in photosynthesis, as a structural component of the Photosystem II water-splitting protein (Mousavi et al, 2011). It also serves as electron storage and delivery to the chlorophyll reaction centers (Millaleo et al, 2010). Copper acts as a structural element in regulatory proteins and participates in photosynthetic electron transport, mitochondrial respiration, oxidative stress responses, cell wall metabolism and hormone signaling (Marschner, 1995; Raven et al, 1999). Under improper soil conditions such as high lime, low percentage of soil organic matter and high ph uptake of nutrients has limited by plants roots. In these conditions, foliar application of micronutrients has became a popular method for supplying these nutrients (Çelik et al, 2010). Recent studies have shown that a small amount of nutrient applied by foliar spraying can correct the deficiency symptoms and increase the yield of crops significantly (Shalaby, 1998; Pospišil et al, 2005; Kristek et al, 2006; Nemeat-Alla et al, 2009; Çelik et al, 2010) Numerous studies have shown positive effects of micronutrient application on sugar beet growth (Shalaby, 1998; Pospišil et al, 2005; Kristek et al, 2006; Nemeat- Alla et al, 2009; Moustafa et al, 2011; Amin et al, 2013). However, there is no information about the effect of micronutrient nutrition on sugar beet grown on calcareous soil of northeastern Iran. In this context, the aim of this work was to investigate the effect of foliar application of micronutrients on quality and quantity of sugar beet in calcareous soils of Esfarayen region, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS The field experiment was conducted in Esfarayen in northeastern Iran. The area has a dry climate (with warm and dry summers) with an average annual rainfall of 270 mm and the mean temperature 15 C. The Meteorological data were collected from weather stations near the field experiment. The soil was aridisol according to United States soil taxonomy. It is characterized by large amounts of calcium carbonate (containing 28 percent). The existence of this amount of calcium carbonate limits the growth of many crops in this area. Other soil properties of experimental site are 88

3 Annals of West University of Timişoara, ser. Biology, 2015, vol XVIII (2), pp presented in Table 1. Experiment design was a factorial randomized complete-block design with three replications. Treatments included three concentrations of mixture of micronutrients (spraying with 0, 1 and 2 litre ha -1 ) and the number of applications (once after 45 days from sowing, twice after 45 and 75 days from sowing, thrice after 45, 75 and 105 days from sowing). Mixture of micronutrients contained 3 percent Fe from FeSO 4, 1 percent Zn from ZnSO 4, 2.5 percent Mn from MnSO 4, 2 percent Cu from CuSO 4, 2 percent B from H 3 BO 3 and 2.8 percent nitrogen. The control treatment (without nutrient input) was sprayed with distilled water only. The sugar beet seeds were sown by hand at the density of plants ha -1 on 24 June Each plot consisted of six rows of 4 m at spacing of 50 cm. Based on the soil test results, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers in the recommended amounts were added to the soil before planting. Weeds, diseases and insects were controlled continuously throughout the growing season. Harvesting was done on 18 November A representative sample from each plot (selecting four rows of 3 m by excluding plants along the plot edges) was used to measure the qualitative and quantitative parameters. Parameters include the content of sucrose, refined sugar, molasses forming substances (Na, K and amino- N), root yield and refined sugar yield. Sucrose content (%) was measured with a TABLE 1. Particle size distribution and physio-chemical properties of the soil at the experimental field site. Texture Loam Clay Sand (%) 18 Clay (%) 24 Silt (%) 58 ph 8.05 EC (ds.m -1 ) 3.56 Total CaCo 3 (%) 28 Organic mater (%) 1.11 Total N (%) P (mg kg -1 ) 5.45 K (mg kg -1 ) 415 Fe (mg kg -1 ) 2.15 Zn (mg kg -1 ) 0.23 Cu (mg kg -1 ) 0.88 Mn (mg kg -1 ) 5.45 polarimeter after extraction of sugar from the pulp with lead acetate (Yarnia et al, 2008). K and Na content (meq 100g -1 beet) were determined by flame photometry and amino N (meq 100g -1 beet) was measured by blue index method (Gobarah et al, 2014). Refined sugar content (%) was calculated by sucrose content minus molasses forming substances (Na, K and amino- N). Also, refined sugar yield (t ha -1 ) was calculated by multiplying fresh root yield and refined sugar content. Data were analyzed using the SAS computer program. Multiple comparisons of variables were made using the least significant differences (LSD) at P<0.05. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Root yield. Micronutrient concentrations, number of foliar applications and their interactions significantly affect root yield (Table 2). Accordingly, foliar spraying of micronutrients highly increased root yield compared with the control (Table 3). The comparison of the two concentrations showed that in each application of spraying the highest root yield was obtained compared with the control in the spraying 2 L ha -1 of 89

4 RASSAM et al: Root yield and quality of sugar beet in relation to foliar application of micronutrients the micronutrients (Table 3). Also in the same concentration of 2 L ha -1, increasing number of spraying to once, twice and thrice improved the root yield by respectively 12, 19 and 20 percent in comparison to that obtained under control conditions. There are many reasons to justify the increase of the root yield caused by micronutrients application especially in calcareous soils. In fact, Katkat et al. (2009) stated that in calcareous soils because of the high ph the solubility of micronutrients is reduced and the plant grown in such soils is encountered with micronutrient deficiency. Amin et al. (2013) in the analysis of the effect of micronutrient composition containing iron, molybdenum, zinc, manganese and boron on the quantity and quality of sugar beet reported that the root yield was 77, 82 and 86 t ha -1, respectively when micronutrients sprayed zero, once in 60 days after planting and twice in 60 and 75 days after planting. They reported that the root yield was increased proportionally to the frequency of spraying may be because of increased concentrations of boron, zinc, manganese and copper in plants. These micronutrients play the role of coenzymes and lead to increase assimilates and consequently the growth of leaves and root which results in accumulation of dry matter of roots and increased root yield. Gobarah et al. (2014) found that a spraying the micronutrient once in 60 days after planting increased the root yield 4 percent and twice in 60 and 90 days after planting increases the root yield 9 percent compared with the control. This positive effect was attributed to the sugar beet need to a lot of micronutrients such as boron, zinc and iron which have an essential roles in the development and production of plant. Yarnia et al. (2008) attributed the increase in chlorophyll pigments and photosynthesis capacity to the increased 34 percent root yield of the plants being sprayed by the micronutrients. The effect of micronutrients on the performance of the sugar beet root yield was confirmed by many researchers (Hellal et al, 2009; Nemeat- Alla et al, 2009; Ghareib et al, 2011; Moustafa et al, 2011). The content of sucrose and refined sugar. The number of spraying did not have a significant effect on the content of sucrose and refined sugar but the concentration of micronutrients and their interactions on these parameters were significant (Table 2). The contents of sucrose and refined sugar in the plots being sprayed were higher than the unsprayed ones (control) (Table 3). With increasing concentration of micronutrients from 1 into 2 L ha -1 the contents of sucrose and refined sugar were increased but the difference between the concentrations only with once spraying was significant. This suggests that in order to achieve maximum sucrose and white sugar content if only once spraying is applied within 45 days after planting, 2 litre ha -1 of micronutrients must be applied but by increasing the frequency of spraying into twice within 45 and 75 days after planting or thrice within 45, 75 and 105 days after planting the amount of 1 L ha -1 of micronutrients is sufficient. The increased sucrose and white sugar content by applying micronutrients is coinciding with those reported by other researchers (Shaban & Negm, 2008; Ghareib et al, 2011; Moustafa et 90

5 Annals of West University of Timişoara, ser. Biology, 2015, vol XVIII (2), pp al, 2011). In the study conducted by Gobarah et al. (2014) sucrose contents in the control treatment, spraying once within 60 days after planting and twice within 60 and 90 days after planting include 19.43, and 21.3 percent, respectively and refined sugar contents were 15.77, 17.4 and percent, respectively. The improved quality of sugar beet as a result of applying micronutrients is attributed to the presence of elements such as boron that increases the transfer of sugars produced in the leaves to the root (Yarnia et al, 2008; Gobarah et al, 2014). The positive role of micronutrients in enhancing the quality of other products, such as barley (Mohamed et al, 2012) and mung bean (Thalooth et al, 2006) is proven. Content of molasses forming substances. The refined sugar content is dependent on many root features: morphological (size and shape), physical (tissue elasticity), physiological (intensity of constituent roots respiration on piles before processing), chemical (saccharose content, and content of melassigenic substance impeding sugar extraction) (Rychcik & Zawislak, 2002). The main components that make it difficult to extract sugar are: potassium, sodium, and alpha-amino nitrogen in the form of amino-acids (glutamic acid and aspartic acid) and amides (glutamines, asparagines). The content of molasses forming substances in roots depends mainly on the quality of soil, mineral fertilization (mostly nitrogen and potassium), and meteorological condition during the vegetation period (Rychcik & Zawislak, 2002). High content of sodium, potassium and nitrogen prevents sucrose crystallization and reduces the white sugar extraction. Micronutrient concentrations and spraying frequencies as well as their interaction effect had significant effects on the K, Na and amino- N contents (Table 2). The highest amount of these compounds occurred in the control treatment and by applying the micronutrient spray they were reduced (Table 4). Two and three time's solution spray of both concentrations reduced the content of molasses forming substances more than one time application. For example, while K content was reduced by 17 percent in 1 L ha -1 sprays just once but the reduction was 33 and 30 percent in twice and 3 times of application. Similarly, once spray of 2 L ha -1 reduced the K content 31 percent compared with the control but the percentage of reduction was 38 and 37 percent in twice and thrice of application. These results are consistent with the results of Gobarah et al. (2014) who showed that in the control treatment, once and twice spray of the micronutrients the amount of K was 6.39, 6.18 and 6.05 percent the amount of Na was 2.17, 1.9 and 1.86 percent and amount of N was 4.66, 3.82 and 3.19 percent, respectively. Refined sugar yield was significantly affected by the micronutrient concentrations, the number of micronutrient spraying and their interaction effect (Table 2). Foliar spray of micronutrients improved to the refined sugar yield. The highest refined sugar yield was obtained by 2 L ha -1 spraying which had a significant difference with 1 L ha -1 concentration (Table 3). Since the refined sugar yield is the 91

6 RASSAM et al: Root yield and quality of sugar beet in relation to foliar application of micronutrients result of the root yield multiplied by refined sugar content, therefore the difference of treatments in these two components will lead to a difference in white sugar yield. Accordingly, despite the sameness of refined sugar content in the two concentrations of the micronutrients in twice and three times of application, the significant higher root yield in 2 L ha -1 concentration than 1 L ha -1 has been caused noteworthy difference among two concentrations. This reflects the importance of root yield in achieving maximum yield of refined sugar as the most important economical parameter in producing sugar beet. Similar to the present research results many studies have referred to the increased refined sugar yield by applying the micronutrients. Yarnia et al. (2008) reported that applying the complete micronutrients leads to an increase of 46 percent of sucrose yield compared with the unsprayed plants. The results of the research conducted by Amin et al. (2013) showed that the sugar yield from 8.64 ton/ha in the control treatment was increased into 8.79 and 9.17 t ha -1 in once and twice spraying of micronutrients. Similar results have also been achieved by Ghareib & El-Henawy (2011), Nemeat-Alla et al. (2009) and Shaban & Negm (2008). Gobarah et al. (2014) revealed that spraying micronutrient once within 60 days after planting increased refined sugar yield 15 percent and spraying micronutrient twice within 60 and 90 days after planting the increased refined sugar yield 22 percent compared to the control. They concluded that this increase is because of the positive impact of micronutrient on the quantity and quality of sugar beet roots. TABLE 2.Variance analysis of micronutrients concentration and number of application on yield and quality of sugar beet ( **, *,ns ; significant at P<0.01, P<0.05 and not significant.) Var. Source df F-values sucrose content refined sugar Na K Amino N Root yield Refined sugar yield Replication Micronutrients concentration (M) ** ** ** ** 74.7 ** 2860 ** ** Number of Application (NA) ns 3.16 ns 3.55 * ** 3.8 * ** 27.9 ** M NA ** 9.73 ** 3.49 * ** 3. 3 * 113 ** 15.5 ** Error 16 TABLE 3. Effect of micronutrients concentrations and number of application on sucrose content, refined sugar content, root yield and refined sugar yield (In any number of applications and in each column means with the same letter has no significant difference (LSD test, P<0.05). Number of application Concentrations Sucrose Refined sugar Root yield Refined sugar yield (litre ha -1 ) content (%) content (%) (t ha -1 ) (t ha -1 ) Once c 12.87c 36.13c 4.68c b 14.82a 38.44b 5.70b a 15.91b 40.46a 6.44a Twice b 12.89b 36.11c 4.63c a 15.89a 40.00b 6.35b a 15.94a 42.80a 6.82a Thrice b 12.89b 36.10c 4.65c a 15.26a 41.87b 6.39b a 15.52a 43.19a 6.71a 92

7 Annals of West University of Timişoara, ser. Biology, 2015, vol XVIII (2), pp TABLE 4. Effect of micronutrients concentrations and number of application on content of molasses forming substances (In any number of applications and in each column means with the same letter has no significant difference (LSD test, P<0.05). Number of application Once Twice Thrice Concentrations (L/ha) NA (meq 100g -1 beet) 2.47a 2.04b 1.68c 2.44a 1.65b 1.49b 2.45a 1.76b 1.53b K (meq 100g -1 beet) 5.97a 4.95b 4.11c 5.93a 3.98b 3.65c 5.90a 4.17b 3.71b AminoN (meq 100g -1 beet) 2.36a 2.04b 1.64c 2.32a 1.56b 1.48b 2.34a 1.64b 1.55b CONCLUSIONS Foliar application of the micronutrients increases the quantity and quality of sugar beet grown in calcareous soils. The root and refined sugar yield are among the most important components in sugar beet production. Changes made in other parameters such as sucrose, refined sugar, amino- N, K and Na contents are the result of the applied treatments reflected in these two characteristics. The results of this research showed that under the conditions of calcareous soils of Esfarayen the highest root and sugar yield is achieved by three times application of 2 L ha -1 of micronutrient mixture within 45, 75 and 105 days after planting. REFERENCES Adiloglu A The effect of zinc (Zn) application on the available iron (Fe) contents of calcareous soils in Thrace region. Arch. Agron. Soil Sc. 49(3): Amin, G.A., Badr A.E., Afifi M.H.M Root Yield and quality of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) in response to biofertilizer and foliar application with micronutrients. World App Sci J. 27 (11): Aboushady, Kh., Nemeat-Alla E.A.E., Yousef N.O.A Effect of level and time of nitrogen application and harvesting date on yield and quality of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.). Minufiya J. Agric. Re. 32(5): Brown, P.H., Bellaloui N., Wimmer M.A., Bassil E.S., Ruiz J., Hu H., Pfeffer H., Dannel F., Romheld V Boron in Plant Biology. Plant Biol. 4: Cakmak I Enrichment of cereal grains with zinc: agronomic or genetic bio-fortification? Plant Soil. 302:1-17. Çelik H., Katkat A.V., Aşık B.B., Turan M.A Effect of foliar-applied humic acid to dry weight and mineral nutrient uptake of maize under calcareous soil conditions. Commun Soil Sci Plant Ana. 42(1): El-Fouly M.M., Rezk A.L., Omer M.A., Shalaby E.E., El-Nasharty A.B Effect of potassium and foliar application of micronutrients on the yield and quality of sugar beet grown in calcareous soil. Egyptian J. Agric. Res. 2(2): Fahad S., Masood A., Anjum M., Hussain, S The Effect of Micronutrients (B, Zn and Fe) Foliar Application on the Growth, Flowering and Corm Production of Gladiolus (Gladiolus grandiflorus L.) in Calcareous Soils. J. Agr. Sci. Tech. 16: Ghareib H.S., El-Henawy A.S Response of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris, L) to irrigation regime, nitrogen rate and micronutrients application. Alex. Sci. Exchange J. 32:

8 RASSAM et al: Root yield and quality of sugar beet in relation to foliar application of micronutrients Gobarah M.E., Tawfik M. M., Zaghloul S.M., Amin, G.A Effect of Combined Application of Different Micronutrients on Productivity and Quality of Sugar Beet Plants (Beta vulgaris L.). Int J Plant and Soil Sci. 3(6): Hellal F.A., Taalab A.S., Safaa A.M Influence of nitrogen and boron nutrition balance and sugar beet yield grown in calcareous soil. Ozean J.App. Sci. 2(1):1-10. Katkat A.V., Çelik H., Turan M.A., Asik B.B. 2009, Effects of soil and foliar applications of humic substances on dry weight and mineral nutrients uptake of wheat under calcareous soil conditions. Aust J Basic Appl Sci. 3(2): Khosa S. S.Younis A., Rayit A., Yasmeen S., Riaz A Effect of foliar application of macro and micro nutrients on growth and flowering of Gerbera jamesonii L. Amer. Euras. J. Agric. Environ. Sci. 11: Kristek A., Stojić B., Kristek S Effect of the foliar boron fertilization on sugar beet root yield and quality. Agriculture. 12: Marschner H Mineral nutrition of higher plants. Academic Press, London, 889p. Millaleo R. Reyes., D.M. Ivanov A.G., Mora M.L., lberdi M.A Manganese as essential and toxic element for plants transport, accumulation and resistance mechanisms. J. Soil Sci. Plant Nutr. 10(4): Mohamed R.B., Eradatmand A.D., Tehrani M The effect of dose and different methods of Iron, Zinc, Manganese and copper application on yield components, morphological traits and grain protein percentage of barley plant (Hordeum vulgare L.) in green house condition. Adva. In Envir. Bio. 6(2): Mousavi S., Shahsavari M., Rezaei M A General overview on manganese (Mn) importance for crops production. Aust. J. Basic Appl Sci. 5(9): Nemeat-Alla E.A.E., Zalat S.S., Badr A.I Sugar beet yield and quality as affected by nitrogen levels and foliar application with micronutrients. J Agric. Res. Kafr El-Sheikh Univ. 35(4): Moustafa Z.R., Soudi A.M.K., El-Shenawy M.Kh Productivity and quality of sugar beet as influenced by nitrogen fertilizer and some micronutrients. Egypt. J. Agric. Res. 89 (3): Pospišil M., Pospišil A., Sito S Foliar application of liquid fertilizer Fertina B to sugar beet. Listy Cukrovarnické a Reparské. 121: Raven J.A., Evans M.C.W., Korb R.E The role of trace metals in photosynthetic electron transport in O 2-evolving organisms. Photosynth. Res. 60: Rychcik B., Zawislak K Yields and root technological quality of sugar beet grown in crop rotation and long-term monoculture. Rostlinna Vyroba. 48(10): Shaban K.H.A., Negm M.A Effect of Zn and B foliar application to sugar beet crown on a calcareous soil on root, sugar yields and nutrient contents. Egypt. J. Soil Sci. 48 (1): Shalaby S. A The response of sugar beet to micronutrients as foliar application. Egypt J. Appli. Sci. 13: Thalooth A. T., Tawfik M. M., Magda Mohamed H A comparative study on the effect of foliar application of zinc, potassium and magnesium on growth, yield and some chemical constituents of mungbean plants grown under water stress conditions. World Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 2(1): Yarnia M., Khorshidi Benam M.B., Kazemi Arbat H., Farajzade E., Tabrizi M., Hassanpanah D Effects of complete micronutrients and their application method on root yield and sugar content of sugar beet cv. Rassoul. J Food Agric Environ. 6: Ziaeian A.H., Malakouti M.J Effect of Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu fertilization on yield and grain quality of wheat in the calcareous soils of Iran: In W. J.Horst, Schenk, M. K., Buerkert et al. (eds) Plant Nutrition Food Security and Sustainability of Agroecosystems. Kluwer Acadmic Publishers, Printed in the Netherlands, pp: