SUGARBEET TRANSPLANTING - 1970

Ron Torkelson, Instructor In Soils,
John T. Moraghan, Professor of Soils,
and
Gerald H. Smith, Sugarbeet Specialist

Objective: To investigate and evaluate the performance of sugarbeet transplants in the Red River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota.

Previous Work

The transplanting of sugarbeets is by no means a newly discovered technique in sugarbeet production. For some time transplanting has been practiced in Europe, Japan, The United Kingdom, and more recently, in various parts of the United States. A number of advantages hopefully gained through transplants to give the grower a greater return on his dollar are:

  1. An extended growing season;
  2. A controlled stand - both desired population and uniform distribution;
  3. In combination with new and improved herbicides, the elimination of thinning and weeding;
  4. The immediate utilization of nitrogen;
  5. A resistance to spring frost damage;
  6. A greater tolerance to herbicides;
  7. A greater resistance to nematodes and root maggots;
  8. An improved work schedule.

The use of transplants in sugarbeet production however, is not without draw-backs. At the present time the reported chief disadvantages to the practice of using sugarbeet transplants are:

  1. The availability of suitable machinery for transplanting in the field large numbers of beets in short time periods;
  2. The problems associated with the raising of 2.5 million transplants which would be required for 100 acres of beets;
  3. The production of a high proportion of sprangled roots.

In 1968 Mr. Russ Steen of American Crystal Sugar Corporation, in cooperation with Mr. Don Kesinger of Gates Rubber Company conducted a transplant study at East Grand Forks, Minnesota. Mr. D. Works, University of Idaho, has conducted sugarbeet transplant research for the past five growing seasons and reports yield increases of 50-90%. Japanese and European workers have reported yield increases of 5-50%. As experienced by other workers in transplant research, the big 'hang-up' is in mechanization to accommodate transplanting on a commercial scale. Fully realizing this need, the transplant work conducted in Idaho this past summer included a proposal for research assistance in the development of an experimental machine. Gates Rubber Company has also been conducting research centered around around such equipment.

With a prospect that sugarbeet transplants may become a part of Red River Valley sugarbeet technology and production, work was initiated this past growing season to investigate the yield potential of transplants under our cultural and climatic conditions.

Experimental

Sugarbeets were grown in the greenhouse under controlled nutrient, light, and temperature conditions for a period of 6 to 9 weeks before transplanting to three sites - Fargo Main Station, Northwest Experiment Station at Crookston, and Kippen Farms at Cavalier. American Crystal seed No. 2 Hybrid B. was used.

Fargo - The majority of the transplants were planted at the Fargo station as part of the population - fertility study conducted by Dr. Moraghan. Nitrogen treatments were 0, 50, 100, and 200 pounds per acre and the transplants were planted at a population of 95 plants per 100 foot of row (12.6-inch spacing) in 22-inch rows. The soil nitrate-N in the upper 2 feet of soil was approximately 50 pounds per acre in early May. The land was in small grains in 1969. The seeded beets were planted on May 13 and the transplants were put in the ground on May 18.

Plant recovery to transplant shock and subsequent survival was nearly 100 percent with light precipitation and cool days and nights prevalent following planting. An early response to nitrogen treatments within the transplants was observed and the top and root growth of the transplants compared to the seeded beets was greater throughout the early part of the season. As the season progressed however, these differences became less pronounced and very little difference was observed or measured at the later harvests.

Stored soil moisture was adequate at planting time but with little growing season precipitation (0.89 inches between June 20 and August 28) both the seeded and transplant beets showed some moisture stress. Early senescence, the aging, drying, and dropping of older leaves, was more pronounced in the transplants and at an earlier date.

Root and petiole harvests were conducted six times between July 28 and October 6 at two week intervals. The effect of treatment on the yields of roots and tops, the percent sucrose and moisture content of roots, the root Impurity Index, the nitrate content of recently matured petioles, and the soil water content was evaluated. The root yield on October 6 averaged across nitrogen treatments was 20 tons and represented a one ton yield advantage over the seeded beets. The high yield for a single transplant plot was 23.8 tons per acre. The use of N fertilizer increased transplant yields.

Moderate sprangling which was evident on all transplants in all trials produced a 'stumpy' shaped beet instead of the conventional tapered root. These beets cleaned up well, appeared satisfactory for conventional topping equipment, and suffered very little tonnage loss through breaking of secondary roots in harvest.

Cavalier and Crookston - The transplants at Cavalier and Crookston were part of a fertility study conducted by Dr. Don Wagner. All transplants received the 100-pound per acre nitrogen treatment. Three harvests of recently matured petioles and blades were made during the growing season for nitrate-nitrogen and spectrographic analysis. Root harvests were conducted the week of October 19 for an evaluation of root yield, sucrose percentage, and Impurity Index. The laboratory analyses have not been completed and data will be reported as these become available.

The beets at Cavalier were planted May 27 under very damp conditions. The top two feet of soil had 41 pounds of N per acre just prior to seeding and tested low in phosphorus and very high in potassium. Transplant survival was very good and the transplanted beets appeared superior to the seeded beets throughout the growing season. There was a serious root maggot infestation throughout the plot and this resulted in a high mortality rate among the seeded beets. Many transplants also suffered maggot attacks, but practically all beets subsequently recovered. Consequently this difference in harvest population may have contributed to the 5.3 ton per acre yield advantage of transplants over seeded beets at Cavalier.

The beets were planted at Crookston June 8 on potato ground. The soil tested 163 pounds of nitrate-N in the top two feet of soil with P and K testing very high. There was evidence of sprangling in all plots including the seeded beets and in many cases it was less severe in the transplants. The transplants at Crookston produced a 3.4 ton per acre yield advantage over the seeded beets.

Following is a data summary of cropping history, date planted, soil test, and root yield.


Sugarbeet Research and Education Board, Volume 1, pg. 9 - 11


1984 Sugarbeet Research and Extension Reports. Volume 15, page 105.


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