Influence of UV Radiation on the Safety of Sugar Beet Mother Roots and the Genetic Variability of the Obtained Seeds

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of UV radiation on the safety of sugar beet mother roots and the genetical variability of the obtained seeds. Sugar beet mother roots were treated with a Philips TUV 30W bactericidal lamp with a maximum wave length of 253.7 nm (UV-C) at a distance of 50–60 cm from the surface. After that, the roots were stored in polypropylene bags under the uncontrolled conditions of a beet root storehouse. The studies were conducted with three replications. The scheme of the experiment provided for the treatment of roots (50 per each variant) of the multigerm pollinator used to produce a hybrid of domestic selection RMC 127 with UV radiation. The exposures were 60, 90, 120, and 180 s (without treatment for the control). In the variant with 180 s exposure, a reliable fourfold reduction in rotting sugar beet and 4.6-fold decrease in rotten mass were observed as compared to the control. In addition, loss of planting material mass during storage decreased from 5.4 (control) to 2.7%. The maximum biological efficiency of the treatment in the experiment was 78.5%. The high safety level of the pollinator mother roots was registered for UV-radiation with exposures of 120 s, the share of the rotten roots became two times lower, and the rotten mass decreased by 3.4-times in comparison with the control. The mass losses were two times lower. The biological efficiency of the treatment was 70.81%. Ultraviolet radiation with exposures of 120 and 180 s had a high biological effect concerning the influence on mother root rot spread and development, which subsequently ensured a high yield of seed-bearing plants (0.62 t/ha). A molecular-genetic analysis of the plants obtained after UV treatment using six markers for Unigene microsatellite loci revealed the absence of genetic mutations.