Effect of Strip-Till and Variety on Yield and Quality of Sugar Beet against Conventional Tillage

Abstract

A two-factor field experiment using sugar beet was conducted in 2016–2018 at Sokołowo in Poland (φ 53◦5′ 16.05” N, λ 19◦6′ 21.07” E), in a strip-plot arrangement with four replicates. Strip-till (ST) was compared to conventional tillage (CT) using four commercial sugar beet varieties (Alegra, Armesa, Contenta, Julius). In each study year, the experiment was established on lessivé soils developed from heavy loamy sand. The soil was rich in available macronutrients, while its reaction was neutral. The plant density, sugar yield, roots quality, and technological sugar yield were determined. A significant increase was found in root yield (6.6%) and, accordingly, in technological sugar yield (8.2%) in ST treatment relative to CT. Consistently, an increasing trend was observed for the root sugar content (0.21%). For the varieties examined, no preferences were observed in respect of tillage systems applied. The direction of changes in root yield, sugar content, and technological sugar yield remained constant regardless of the variety, tillage system, or the study year. The contents of potassium, sodium, and α-amino-nitrogen responded equally to both the variety and study year; however, the direction of changes in the above parameters was ambiguous and varied among the study years.