Efficacy of anti-transpiration on yield and quality of sugar beet subjected to water stress

Abstract

The current study took place at Shandaweel, Sohag governorate, Egypt, (latitude of 24.54 ° N and longitude of 32.94 ° E) and included two seasons, 2019/2020 and 2020/2021, to study the efficacy of anti-transpiration on yield and quality of sugar beet subjected to water stress. Three replications in a split-plot randomized complete block design were used in the experiment. The treatments included three irrigation levels (100, 80, and 60% of the recommended irrigation) in cases 12, 10, and 7 irrigations were applied and given at an average interval of 15, 18, and 26 days, which were randomly in the main plots, while, three anti-transpirant substances (Chitosan, Glycerol, and Magnesium carbonate), as well as water-sprayed plants (control) were placed in subplots randomly. Plant growth, chlorophyll, relative water content, cell membrane stability index, sugar production, and quality index were all lowered by drought stress in both seasons. Furthermore, under drought conditions, proline, free radical scavenging activity, and sucrose levels all increased significantly. In both seasons, the application of anti-transpiration substances had a substantial effect on improving the examined features when compared to the control. Foliar spray of chitosan or glycerol had a beneficial effect on physiological, morphological, and quality characteristics of the examined plants, compared to the control treatment. Generally, anti-transpirants reduced water use and increased water production in general when irrigation water was scarce. Furthermore, spraying anti-transpirants, which were responsible for lowering water use, considerably enhanced most of the growth and yield measures as well as quality.