The Effect of Planting Dates and Varieties Interaction on Productivity and Some Morphological and Qualitative Traits of Fodder Beet (Beta vulgaris var. crassa)

Ahmad Mohanna(1) Entessar Al-Jbawi*(2) and Julnar Mansour(1)

(1). Crops Department, Faculty of Agriculture, AL Baath University, Homs, Syria

(2). Sugar beet Research Department, Crops Research Administration, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR), Damascus, Syria.

(*Corresponding author: dr.entessara@gmail.com, dr.entessara@gcsar.gov.sy).

Received: 21/04/2019                                Accepted: 07/05/2019

Abstract

Fodder beet is a high production crop, and is a very promising crop to be grown in Syria, and attention has grown to the cultivation of this crop. However, recommended agronomic practices for maximizing productivity are limited. A field experiment was conducted in season 2017/2018 to study the effect of planting date and varieties interaction on the production, and some qualitative and morphological traits of five fodder beet cultivars (Caribou, Varians, SV Four 16, Tarine and Lipari). The experiment was a randomized complete block design (RCBD) in split plots arrangement with three replicates, planting dates (mid Feb. and mid Mar.) were assigned to the main plots and fodder beet cultivars were allotted to the sub plots. The results of the statistical analysis exhibited the superiority of mid Feb. date as compared with mid-March for all the studied traits. Varieties exhibited highly significant (p≤0.05) differences in most of the studied characteristics except plant number per hectare. Lipari and Tarine surpassed the other varieties in terms of the production, morphology and qualitative traits. The conclusion is to plant fodder beet in mid-February time in Homs, Syria, to attain the highest yield, and quality traits of fodder beet crop. Also, the study recommends further trials identify optimum agronomic practices especially harvesting date, fertilization and spacing in the other sites in Syria.

Key words: Planting date, Fodder beet, Production, Morphological and qualitative traits.

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