Effects of depth-dependent irrigation regimes and organomineral fertilizers on water use and quality attributes of sugar beet

Abstract

Experiments were conducted under provincial conditions of Kayseri, Turkey, for two years in the growing seasons of 2014 and 2015 to determine the effects of irrigation water applications based on different sugar beet root zone depths and different organomineral fertilizers on sugar beet yield, root quality, water consumption, and water use efficiency. Two constant root depths (D1 = 0.9 m and D2 = 0.6 m) and one active water extraction root depth (D3 = 0.4–0.9 m) were investigated. A mineral fertilizer (F1), an organomineral fertilizer (F2), and organic + mineral fertilizer (F3) were considered as the subtreatments in the experiments carried out in a completely randomized block split-split plots design with 3 replications. Despite the lower nitrogen and phosphorus quantities applied, the F2 treatment produced the same sugar beet root yield (95.31 t/ha) as F1 (88.59 t/ha) and F3 (94.56 t/ha) treatments. The irrigation water requirements of D1 for two years were 22.8% and 27.6% greater than the D2 and D3 treatments, respectively. Irrigation water use efficiencies of D2 and D3 treatments were higher than D1. Digestion and recoverable sugar percent and Na, K, and N contents of roots were not affected significantly by the treatments. Using organomineral fertilizers would offer various advantages for disposing of huge urban waste deposits and returning organic matter to agricultural areas. Use of active root water extraction depth or 0.60-m root depth for irrigation applications will also contribute to efficient use of water resources and improve the income of sugar beet farmers due to reduced irrigation costs.