Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » East Lansing, Michigan » Sugarbeet and Bean Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #239367

Title: Sugarbeet Activities of the USDA-ARS East Lansing Conducted in Cooperation with Saginaw Valley Bean and Beet Farm during 2008

Author
item McGrath, Jon
item Hanson, Linda
item NAEGELE, R - Michigan State University

Submitted to: Annual Beet Sugar Development Foundation Research Report
Publication Type: Research Notes
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/15/2009
Publication Date: 6/1/2009
Citation: McGrath, J.M., Hanson, L.E., Naegele, R.P. 2009. Sugarbeet Activities of the USDA-ARS East Lansing Conducted in Cooperation with Saginaw Valley Bean and Beet Farm during 2008 [CD-ROM]. 2009 Annual Beet Sugar Development Foundation Research Report. Denver, Colorado: Beet Sugar Development Foundation.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Four evaluation plots were planted at the Michigan State University Saginaw Valley Bean and Beet Research Farm in 2008. Test 08BB01 was specifically designed to evaluate a number of non-traditional yield and physiological measures that had been suggested from earlier trials, in addition to the more traditional measures of total root yield and sucrose percentage. As such, a greater number of commercial materials were evaluated than in past years. In particular, the relationship between the percent water and the percent sucrose Fresh Weight was of interest, as in prior years results suggested that commercial varieties have 1-2% lower water percent than our breeding materials and prior releases. In this test, water content differed significantly between breeding and commercial germplasm (78.02% water vs. 76.14%, respectively; LSD 5% = 0.65; F = 49.69***). Recent selection for low water content among the breeding materials has effected a positive change, for instance in EL-A0021744 selected as ‘Low water elites’ (Table 1). Interestingly, commercial germplasm had significantly less sucrose expressed as a percent of Dry Matter (%sucDM) than breeding lines (80.50 %sucDM vs. 77.89%, respectively; LSD 5% = 1.5%; F = 17.92***). Also of interest was that percent water predicted the percent sucrose Fresh Weight (%sucFW) fairly well, with an R2 = 0.62 (%sucFW = 67.91 – 0.64 %water). This result suggests that water analyses could be useful for early generation selection in breeding programs.