Assessing water uptake in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) under different watering regimes
Sugar beet yield worldwide is substantially reduced as a result of drought stress. Water uptake may be limited by the plant (e.g. low root density) or by soil physical constraints. An experiment was conducted to assess the ability of sugar beet to produce roots and take up water throughout the soil...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2017
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46947/ |
| _version_ | 1848797434631684096 |
|---|---|
| author | Fitters, Tamara F.J. Bussell, Jennifer S. Mooney, Sacha J. Sparkes, Debbie L. |
| author_facet | Fitters, Tamara F.J. Bussell, Jennifer S. Mooney, Sacha J. Sparkes, Debbie L. |
| author_sort | Fitters, Tamara F.J. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Sugar beet yield worldwide is substantially reduced as a result of drought stress. Water uptake may be limited by the plant (e.g. low root density) or by soil physical constraints. An experiment was conducted to assess the ability of sugar beet to produce roots and take up water throughout the soil profile under contrasting water regimes. Sugar beet was grown in columns, 15 cm in diameter and 1 m height in a glasshouse. In situ soil moisture was monitored hourly, and stomatal conductance was measured weekly. Root length and diameter at different depths were assessed destructively at 78 and 94 DAS. Greater water availability resulted in a higher root length and lower water use efficiency. Water uptake was initially from the upper soil layers but, as demand for water increased, there was a strong increase in root length density at depth. However, it was a further 16 days, after roots reached the deep layers, before significant water was taken up. A possible reason for the delay, between presence of roots and water uptake by roots, was the absence of secondary xylem early on, which was supported by a second root anatomy study. Sugar beet can grow roots up to 1 m deep and take up water from depth, however this did not happen until the late stages of drought stress and thus storage root dry weight had already been severely reduced, indicating that prevention of drought is necessary, early on, to minimise yield losses. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:03:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-46947 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:03:49Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-469472020-05-04T19:20:25Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46947/ Assessing water uptake in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) under different watering regimes Fitters, Tamara F.J. Bussell, Jennifer S. Mooney, Sacha J. Sparkes, Debbie L. Sugar beet yield worldwide is substantially reduced as a result of drought stress. Water uptake may be limited by the plant (e.g. low root density) or by soil physical constraints. An experiment was conducted to assess the ability of sugar beet to produce roots and take up water throughout the soil profile under contrasting water regimes. Sugar beet was grown in columns, 15 cm in diameter and 1 m height in a glasshouse. In situ soil moisture was monitored hourly, and stomatal conductance was measured weekly. Root length and diameter at different depths were assessed destructively at 78 and 94 DAS. Greater water availability resulted in a higher root length and lower water use efficiency. Water uptake was initially from the upper soil layers but, as demand for water increased, there was a strong increase in root length density at depth. However, it was a further 16 days, after roots reached the deep layers, before significant water was taken up. A possible reason for the delay, between presence of roots and water uptake by roots, was the absence of secondary xylem early on, which was supported by a second root anatomy study. Sugar beet can grow roots up to 1 m deep and take up water from depth, however this did not happen until the late stages of drought stress and thus storage root dry weight had already been severely reduced, indicating that prevention of drought is necessary, early on, to minimise yield losses. Elsevier 2017-12-01 Article PeerReviewed Fitters, Tamara F.J., Bussell, Jennifer S., Mooney, Sacha J. and Sparkes, Debbie L. (2017) Assessing water uptake in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) under different watering regimes. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 144 . pp. 61-67. ISSN 0098-8472 Drought Roots Soil physical limitations Stomatal conductance http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0098847217302381?via%3Dihub doi:10.1016/j.envexpbot.2017.10.001 doi:10.1016/j.envexpbot.2017.10.001 |
| spellingShingle | Drought Roots Soil physical limitations Stomatal conductance Fitters, Tamara F.J. Bussell, Jennifer S. Mooney, Sacha J. Sparkes, Debbie L. Assessing water uptake in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) under different watering regimes |
| title | Assessing water uptake in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) under different watering regimes |
| title_full | Assessing water uptake in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) under different watering regimes |
| title_fullStr | Assessing water uptake in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) under different watering regimes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing water uptake in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) under different watering regimes |
| title_short | Assessing water uptake in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) under different watering regimes |
| title_sort | assessing water uptake in sugar beet (beta vulgaris) under different watering regimes |
| topic | Drought Roots Soil physical limitations Stomatal conductance |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46947/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46947/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46947/ |