Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T05:44:25.608Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Specific leaf area development of autumn-sown sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) on different sowing dates in northern Germany

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2015

H. KAGE
Affiliation:
Christian Albrechts University of Kiel, Institute of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Hermann-Rodewald-Strasse 9, 24118 Kiel, Germany

Summary

In most regions, sugar beet is normally sown as a spring crop. If sown in autumn the crop remains on the field over winter and may achieve fast re-growth in spring from assimilates stored within the beet, allowing earlier leaf growth and light interception in spring. The specific leaf area (SLA) (ratio between leaf surface and leaf mass) is mainly affected by leaf area expansion and consequently affects productivity in early growth stages. The aim of the present study was (i) to examine the SLA dynamics of autumn-sown sugar beet before and after winter and (ii) to develop an empiric approach describing SLA changes during the growth period. A field trial in northern Germany with three different sowing times (mid-April, mid-June and mid-August) and varying plant densities (148 000, 246 000 and 370 000 plants/ha) was carried out in 2009/10 to 2011/12. The average SLA of the canopy was the highest (>25 m2/kg) directly after emergence, then decreased until autumn (<13 m2/kg) and increased again up to 20 m2/kg during re-growth of winter sugar beet in spring. A stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed mean photosynthetically active radiation over 10 days before measurement (PARmean), leaf area index (LAI), mean temperature over 10 days before measurement (Tmean) and temperature sum since sowing (Tsum) as the main influences on SLA dynamics. The strongest correlation to SLA was shown by Tmean (r = 0·69) and the weakest by Tsum (r = −0·28). A multiple linear regression model was fitted to the dataset with Tmean, PARmean and log (Tsum) achieving an adjusted R2 of 0·64. This empirical equation is suitable for use in a crop growth model for winter sugar beet.

Type
Crops and Soils Research Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Armstrong, A. F., Logan, D. C. & Atkin, O. K. (2006). On the developmental dependence of leaf respiration: responses to short- and long-term changes in growth temperature. American Journal of Botany 93, 16331639.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Asch, F., Sow, A. & Dingkuhn, M. (1999). Reserve mobilization, dry matter partitioning and specific leaf area in seedlings of African rice cultivars differing in early vigor. Field Crops Research 62, 191202.Google Scholar
DeRidder, B. P. & Crafts-Brandner, S. J. (2008). Chilling stress response of postemergent cotton seedlings. Physiologia Plantarum 134, 430439.Google Scholar
Donatelli, M., Bellocchi, G., Criscuolo, L. & Maestrini, C. (2006). Approaching sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) modelling in Italian environments. Agroindustria 5, 213220.Google Scholar
Evans, J. R. (1989). Photosynthesis and nitrogen relationships in leaves of C-3 plants. Oecologia 78, 919.Google Scholar
Evans, J. R. & Poorter, H. (2001). Photosynthetic acclimation of plants to growth irradiance: the relative importance of specific leaf area and nitrogen partitioning in maximizing carbon gain. Plant, Cell and Environment 24, 755767.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Faraway, J. J. (2004). Linear Models with R. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.Google Scholar
Hekneby, M., Antolín, M. C. & Sánchez-Díaz, M. (2006). Frost resistance and biochemical changes during cold acclimation in different annual legumes. Environmental and Experimental Botany 55, 305314.Google Scholar
Hoffmann, C. M. & Kluge-Severin, S. (2010). Light absorption and radiation use efficiency of autumn and spring sown sugar beets. Field Crops Research 119, 238244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoffmann, C. M. & Kluge-Severin, S. (2011). Growth analysis of autumn and spring sown sugar beet. European Journal of Agronomy 34, 19.Google Scholar
Hotsonyame, G. K. & Hunt, L. A. (1998). Seeding date, photoperiod and nitrogen effects on specific leaf area of field-grown wheat. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 78, 5161.Google Scholar
Jaggard, K. W. & Werker, A. R. (1999). An evaluation of the potential benefits and costs of autumn-sown sugarbeet in NW Europe. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 132, 91102.Google Scholar
Jaggard, K. W., Wickens, R., Webb, D. J. & Scott, R. K. (1983). Effects of sowing date on plant establishment and bolting and the influence of these factors on yields of sugar beet. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 101, 147161.Google Scholar
Jaggard, K. W., Qi, A. & Ober, E. S. (2009). Capture and use of solar radiation, water, and nitrogen by sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.). Journal of Experimental Botany 60, 19191925.Google Scholar
Kage, H., Alt, C. & Stützel, H. (2002). Nitrogen concentration of cauliflower organs as determined by organ size, N supply, and radiation environment. Plant and Soil 246, 201209.Google Scholar
Lafarge, T. A. & Hammer, G. L. (2002). Predicting plant leaf area production: shoot assimilate accumulation and partitioning, and leaf area ratio, are stable for a wide range of sorghum population densities. Field Crops Research 77, 137151.Google Scholar
Lee, J. H. & Heuvelink, E. (2003). Simulation of leaf area development based on dry matter partitioning and specific leaf area for cut chrysanthemum. Annals of Botany 91, 319327.Google Scholar
Liu, T., Zhang, C., Yang, G., Wu, J., Xie, G., Zeng, H., Yin, C. & Liu, T. (2009). Central composite design-based analysis of specific leaf area and related agronomic factors in cultivars of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). Field Crops Research 111, 9296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meier, U. (1997). Growth Stages of Mono-and Dicotyledonous Plants: BBCH Monograph. Berlin: Blackwell Wissenschafts-Verlag.Google Scholar
Milford, G. F. J., Pocock, T. O. & Riley, J. (1985). An analysis of leaf growth in sugar beet. I. Leaf appearance and expansion in relation to temperature under controlled conditions. Annals of Applied Biology 106, 163172.Google Scholar
Pin, P. A., Benlloch, R., Bonnet, D., Wremerth-Weich, E., Kraft, T., Gielen, J. J. L. & Nilsson, O. (2010). An antagonistic pair of FT homologs mediates the control of flowering time in sugar beet. Science 330, 13971400.Google Scholar
Pin, P. A., Zhang, W., Vogt, S. H., Dally, N., Büttner, B., Schulze-Buxloh, G., Jelly, N. S., Chia, T. Y. P., Mutasa-Göttgens, E. S., Dohm, J. C., Himmelbauer, H., Weisshaar, B., Kraus, J., Gielen, J. J. L., Lommel, M., Weyens, G., Wahl, B., Schechert, A., Nilsson, O., Jung, C., Kraft, T. & Müller, A. E. (2012). The role of a pseudo-response regulator gene in life cycle adaptation and domestication of beet. Current Biology 22, 10951101.Google Scholar
R Core Team (2012). R: a Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Available from: http://www.R-project.org (accessed September 2014).Google Scholar
Ratjen, A. M. & Kage, H. (2013). Is mutual shading a decisive factor for differences in overall canopy specific leaf area of winter wheat crops? Field Crops Research 149, 338346.Google Scholar
Reich, P. B., Ellsworth, D. E., Walters, M. B., Vose, J. M., Gresham, C., Volin, J. C. & Bowman, W. D. (1999). Generality of leaf trait relationships: a test across six biomes. Ecology 80, 19551969.Google Scholar
Rinaldi, M. (2003). Variation of specific leaf area for sugar beet depending on sowing date and irrigation. Italian Journal of Agronomy 7, 2332.Google Scholar
Rinaldi, M. & Vonella, A. V. (2006). The response of autumn and spring sown sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) to irrigation in Southern Italy: water and radiation use efficiency. Field Crops Research 95, 103114.Google Scholar
Scott, R. K. & Jaggard, K. W. (2000). Impact of weather, agronomy and breeding on yields of sugarbeet grown in the UK since 1970. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 134, 341352.Google Scholar
Scott, R. K., English, S. D., Wood, D. W. & Unsworth, M. H. (1973). Yield of sugar beet in relation to weather and length of growing season. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 81, 339347.Google Scholar
Stöckle, C. O., Donatelli, M. & Nelson, R. (2003). CropSyst, a cropping systems simulation model. European Journal of Agronomy 18, 289307.Google Scholar
Tardieu, F., Granier, C. & Muller, B. (1999). Modelling leaf expansion in a fluctuating environment: are changes in specific leaf area a consequence of changes in expansion rate? New Phytologist 143, 3343.Google Scholar
Tsialtas, J. T. & Maslaris, N. (2008). Leaf allometry and prediction of specific leaf area (SLA) in a sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) cultivar. Photosynthetica 46, 351355.Google Scholar
Vandendriessche, H. J. (2000). A model of growth and sugar accumulation of sugar beet for potential production conditions: SUBEMOpo I. Theory and model structure. Agricultural Systems 64, 119.Google Scholar
Van Laar, H. H., Goudriaan, J. & Van Keulen, H. (1997). SUCROS97: Simulation of Crop Growth for Potential and Water-limited Production Situations. Quantitative Approaches in System Analysis, No. 14. Wageningen, The Netherlands: C.T. de Wit Graduate School for Production Ecology and Resource Conservation.Google Scholar
Wood, D. W. & Scott, R. K. (1975). Sowing sugar beet in autumn in England. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 84, 97108.Google Scholar