CAN THE FERTILISER NITROGEN REQUIREMENT OF SUGAR BEET BE PREDICTED?

摘要

NITROGEN increases the leaf area of the sugar beet crop. If the crop takes up too little nitrogen, there will not be enough foliage, sunlight will be wasted and sugar yields will be small. Conversely, if the crop takes up too much nitrogen, excessiveamounts of foliage are produced. Due to shading, some of the leaves do not work efficiently and there will be a loss of yield. Too much nitrogen also has a deleterious effect on beet quality and reduces the commercial value of the roots. This article isabout ways that the nitrogen fertiliser requirement of beet can be accurately predicted so that the risk of yield loss, by over or under application of nitrogen, is minimised and beet quality is optimised.