Water use Efficiency and Nitrogen use Efficiency in Drip and Deficit Drip Irrigated Sugar Beets (Beta Vulgaris)
Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: Efficient cropping systems emphasize the importance of both water use efficiency \n(WUE) and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). One method of increasing WUE and NUE is \nto implement low-volume irrigation practices. Sugar beet, a resilient crop with a \nmultitude of economical uses, is grown primarily using conventional flood irrigation but \nhas demonstrated improved resource efficiency when grown under drip irrigation. A \ntwo-year study (2015-2017) was conducted at two different field sites located in the \nCentral Valley of California and characterized by clay loam (Site A) and sandy loam \n(Site B) soils. The experimental design was a split-plot with three replications of \nirrigation regime as the main treatment (Drip 100% of ETc, Drip 70% of ETc, and Flood 100% of ETc) and nitrogen (N) rate as the sub-treatment (0, 112, 168, and 224 kg N ha-1). \nBest management practices were evaluated based on yield, sucrose yield, above ground \nbiomass (AGB), relative crop water stress index (rCWSI), WUE, and NUE. At both \nsites, root yields of sugar beets were similar for the 100% drip and flood irrigated \ntreatments. Production under deficit drip (70% of ETc) regimes resulted in the greatest \nWUE for AGB, yield, and sucrose yield. Sugar beet yields were not significantly \ninfluenced by N rates. However, fertilization at the lowest N rate (112 kg N ha????) led to \nthe highest NUE for AGB, yield, sucrose yield, and sucrose production. When assessing \nNUE based on both total available soil N and applied N, the NUE for sucrose yield showed a generally strong correlation (r2 ??? 0.74) to total available soil N at both sites. This study is the first investigation of sugar beets cultivated in the spring under deficit \ndrip irrigation in California.
Author: Anthony Mele
Language: English
Subfield: Soil Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2951977542