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Yield of a Sugarbeet Hybrid from Parents Selected for a High Taproot to Leaf Weight Ratio¹

In earlier studies, sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.) seedlings of breeding line were selected for a high taproot:leaf weight ratio (TLWR), where TLWR = taproot fresh weight/leaf blade fresh weight. The population from these polycrossed high-TLWR plants produced significantly more sucrose per hectare than the unselected and low-TLWR populations. The objectives of this research were to select high-TLWR seedlings of a male and a cytoplasmic male-sterile female, produce the high-TLWR hybrid, and compare its growth and yield with that of the unselected hybrid. Growth in a controlled environment, at 22 days post-emergence, indicated that selection for parents with high TLWR resulted in a hybrid having 22, 7, and 30% increases in TLWR, blade fresh weight, and taproot fresh weight, respectively, compared with the unselected hybrid (EL44c3 x EL45)CMS x EL40. The high-TLWR hybrid yielded significantly more sucrose per hectare than the unselected hybrid in seven of nine Minnesota field tests conducted over 2 years.

Key Words: Economic yield • Photosynthate partitioning

² Plant physiologist, Light and Plant Growth Lab., USDA-ARS, Beltsville MD 20705.

Received for publication March 22, 1984.