Plant, Soil and Environment - In Press
Improvement of Salt Stress Tolerance in Sugar Beet: Role of Gamma Irradiation and Cultivar-Specific Responses
Maisam Naji, Marjan Diyanat, Davood Habibi, Mehdi Sadeghishoae, Weria Wisany
This study investigates the effects of salt stress and gamma irradiation on growth, biochemical, and physiological responses in three sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) cultivars. Control plants were irrigated with fresh water (EC = 1.1 dS/m), whereas salt stress was imposed with 9 dS/m irrigation. Seeds were irradiated with gamma rays (0, 50, 100, 200, 400 Gy) prior to sowing. Exposure to salt stress reduced root yield (RY), sugar yield (SY), chlorophyll content, and antioxidant enzyme activities (CAT and SOD). In contrast, oxidative damage increased, as indicated by elevated malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations. Interestingly, salt stress enhanced sugar content, with the Eudoro cultivar showing the greatest resilience, maintaining higher RY and SY and lower MDA compared to the other cultivars. Gamma irradiation at moderate doses (50–200 Gy) alleviated salt stress effects, with the strongest improvements in SY observed at 100 and 200 Gy. These treatments enhanced RY, chlorophyll content, and antioxidant activities, while also improving photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm) and cellular integrity. Higher doses (>200 Gy) reduced sugar content, indicating dose-specific effects. Eudoro exhibited superior salt tolerance, maintaining higher root and sugar yields (RY, SY) and reduced oxidative damage (lower MDA) under salt stress. These findings demonstrate that gamma irradiation at optimal doses enhances salt tolerance in sugar beet, offering cultivar-specific benefits for breeding programmes in saline environments.
Cleanup Goals for Petroleum-Contaminated Pastures According to Oil Density, Concentration, and Soil TypeOriginal Paper
Juan Pablo Montero-Vélez, Verónica Isidra Domínguez-Rodríguez, Randy Howard Adams
The common 1% oil cleanup criterium was tested for pasture production according to oil type and concentration, in soils types frequently contaminated in southeastern Mexico. Reductions in aerial biomass of B. humidicola were measured over six months in soils contaminated with 1-8% crude oils (light, medium, heavy, extraheavy). Dose-response curves for heavy crude-contaminated soils showed acceptable criteria (90% pasture) of 0.71%, 0.56%, 1.23%, ~0.20% and < 0.10% oil for the Arenosol, Vertisol, Gleysol, Fluvisol and an Acrisol, respectively. Generally, for all crude oils, the 1% level resulted in pasture reductions of ~20-70%, ~25-60%, ~50-65%, and ~35 -65% in the Arenosol, Vertisol, Fluvisol, and Acrisol, respectively, but in the Gleysol it was variable, (reduction of ~10% to an increase of ~15%). Thus, the 1% oil cleanup criterium may be suitable for some soils with large amounts of smectite clays and organic matter (like Gleysols), but for most soils, it may not be strict enough to prevent soil fertility deterioration, and soils with large amounts of non-smectite fines may be especially impacted. Therefore, lower cleanup levels need to be considered, as well as low-cost regenerative agricultural practices to recover soil fertility in contaminated soils, when these cleanup levels are not achievable.
Multi-trait evaluation of oilseed rape varieties
Katarzyna Waszak, Konrad Bana¶, Jacek Broniarz, Tomasz Lenartowicz, Henryk Bujak, Agnieszka £acka, Marcin Przystalski
The multifaceted nature of agricultural management and environmental factors complicates the production of winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.). This study evaluated 25 varieties (21 hybrids and four populations) in three growing seasons (2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23) in Poland. The focus was on yield, fat content, and resistance to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. The analyses revealed significant variability among the varieties, with the hybrids performing better consistently in terms of yield and fat content. The level of resistance to Sclerotinia was similar in hybrid and population varieties. Furthermore, DK Excited was found to be the highest-yielding variety, while Duke had the highest fat content. Derrick was the most resistant to S. sclerotiorum. Advocat and Dynamic were identified as the best varieties. In the analysed series of field trials, yield was found to be affected by high temperatures and a lack of rainfall in March, June, and July. For fat content, a lack of rainfall in July was the main limiting factor.
A comparative applied analysis of six robotic-assisted weeding systems in sugar beetsOriginal Paper
Sonja Isabel Kimmel, Matthias Schumacher, Michael Spaeth, Markus Sökefeld, Oyebanji O. Alagbo, Alicia Allmendinger, Dionisio Andujar, Therese W. Berge, Reiner Braun, Sergiu Cioca Parasca, Jessica Emminghaus, Ioannis Glykos, Pavel Hamouz, Adam Hru¹ka, Michael Merkle, Georg Naruhn, Gerassimos G. Peteinatos, Bahadir Sin, Roland Gerhards
Effective weed management is crucial in the critical period of sugar beet production, but often lacks sustainability and environmental protection. Recent advancements in sensor-based weed control systems have rendered the latter a realistic prospect, that demands detailed analyses especially under suboptimal field conditions. The present study analysed six robotic-assisted weeding systems (RAWS) in three experiments in sugar beets in 2024 under dry soil and high weed pressure. The experiments included sensor-based inter-row and intra-row hoeing, spot- and band-spraying and were compared to a broadcast herbicide treatment and an untreated control. Weed control efficacy (WCE) in the intra- and inter-row areas, weed species composition and crop plant damage were assessed after treatment. The data show that intra-row WCE of two hoeing robots (Farming GT® and Robovator®) equipped with selective intra-row blades achieved up to 80%, which was higher than the broadcast herbicide control with 67% WCE. In the inter-row area, Farming GT® robotic hoeing and ARA® spot-spraying resulted in more than 90% WCE, which was equal to the broadcast herbicide application. Weed species composition was not affected by the different RAWS. Crop plants were affected by all hoeing treatments with maximum non-lethal burial rates of 33%. Lethal uprooting of crop plants was highest after Farming GT® robotic hoeing with 5.5% overall. The results demonstrate the great potential of robotic weeding to replace broadcast herbicide applications.
Quantitative and qualitative changes in white lupin protein during the growing seasonOriginal Paper
Eva Straková, Pavel Suchý
The aim of the study was to assess the quantitative and qualitative changes in crude protein during the growing season in stands of three cultivars of white lupin (ZULIKA, AMIGA, DIETA) when grown under the same soil and climatic conditions in the Czech Republic. Changes in the crude protein and amino acid content were monitored during the growing season from the 9th to the 18th week of stand age. Changes in the crop dry weight were characterised by a statistically significant (P ≤ 0.05) decrease in crude protein from the 9th to the 15th week of stand age (ZULIKA 203.50–176.82 g/kg, AMIGA 190.58–161.59 g/kg, DIETA 201.41–175.84 g/kg). In the following period, during the maturation of lupin pods, from the 15th to the 18th week, the change in the crude protein content of the green matter was not statistically significant (ZULIKA 176.82–162.12 g/kg, AMIGA 161.59–150.95 g/kg, DIETA 175.84–175.24 g/kg). For most of the amino acids studied, a decrease in their content in the dry weight of the green matter was demonstrated from the 9th to the 15th week with a subsequent statistically significant (P ≤ 0.05) increase from the 15th to the 18th week of stand age. Interesting differences were observed in the arginine content, which showed a statistically significant increase (P ≤ 0.05) during the growing season (ZULIKA 7.93–16.03 g/kg, AMIGA 6.88–13.04 g/kg, DIETA 7.56–17.45 g/kg). Changes in the dry weight of the crop in the crude protein and amino acid content can be considered characteristic of lupin crops because of the identical evidence in all three white lupin varieties studied.