Patterns for improved storability of sugar beet – importance of marc content and damage susceptibility of varieties in different environments
2018
Hoffmann, Christa M. | Leijdekkers, Martijn | Ekelöf, Joakim | Vancutsem, Franҫoise
Differences in the storability of sugar beet genotypes have been reported to be related to the marc content of beets. Hence, this study aimed at identifying 1) general patterns to characterize varieties and growing sites for low storage losses, 2) the causal relationship between marc content of varieties and their damage susceptibility, infestation with mould and rots and sugar losses after storage, and 3) the environmental stability of the marc content of varieties. For the storage experiments, 10 varieties were grown at 8 sites in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden in 2015, 2016. After harvest, roots were stored for 8 weeks under controlled conditions. To evaluate the environmental stability, the same 10 varieties were grown at 12 sites in D, NL, B, S and Moldova in 2015 and 11 sites in D, NL, B, S in 2016. The results demonstrate a marked effect of the site on the extent of root tip breakage and surface damages, on infestation with mould and rots and on storage losses (invert sugar content, sugar losses). A general pattern could be identified: in most cases, a higher marc content of varieties coincided with less damages and less infestation with mould and rots, resulting in lower sugar losses. With the exception of variety 1, the marc content provided an indication of the storability of the varieties. The marc content turned out to be a very stable variety trait. These results indicate possibilities for breeding and selection for higher marc content and presumed better storability.
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