This article was downloaded by: [Dalhousie University]On: 12 September 2012, At: 14:57Publisher: Taylor & FrancisInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number:1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street,London W1T 3JH, UK

Communications in SoilScience and Plant AnalysisPublication details, including instructions forauthors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/lcss20

Relationship betweenpotassium and sodium insugar beetSilvia Haneklaus a , Leif Knudsen b & EwaldSchnug aa Institute of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science,Federal Agricultural Research Centre,Bundesallee 50, Braunschweig, D‐38116,Germanyb The Danish Agricultural Advisory Centre,Skejby, Udkaersvej 15, Aarhus, DK‐8200,Denmark

Version of record first published: 11 Nov2008.

To cite this article: Silvia Haneklaus, Leif Knudsen & Ewald Schnug (1998):Relationship between potassium and sodium in sugar beet, Communications inSoil Science and Plant Analysis, 29:11-14, 1793-1798

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00103629809370070

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private studypurposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution,

reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in anyform to anyone is expressly forbidden.

The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or makeany representation that the contents will be complete or accurateor up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drugdoses should be independently verified with primary sources. Thepublisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings,demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arisingdirectly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of thismaterial.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Dal

hous

ie U

nive

rsity

] at

14:

57 1

2 Se

ptem

ber

2012

COMMUN. SOIL SCI. PLANT ANAL., 29(11-14), 1793-1798 (1998)

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POTASSIUM AND SODIUM IN SUGARBEET

Silvia Haneklausa, Leif Knudsenb, and Ewald Schnuga

aInstitute of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, Federal Agricultural Research Centre,Bundesallee 50, D-38116 Braunschweig, Germany

bThe Danish Agricultural Advisory Centre, Skejby, Udkaersvej 15, DK-8200Aarhus, Denmark

ABSTRACT

Results of a field survey in northern Germany and Denmark strengthened theimportance of a balanced sodium (Na) and potassium (K) supply for sugar beet.Compensation of K by Na is obvious in the range of moderate K deficiency butmaximum yields required a minimum concentration of 35 mg K g-1 in foliar drymatter and a minimum of 6 mg Na g-1 at the same time. Field studies were carried outin order to quantify the effect of Na applications on yield and quality of sugar beet inrelation to soil type. Sodium fertilization decreased K contents in sugar beet leavessignificantly in favor of higher Na and chlorine (Cl) uptake which also induced higherwater contents in the leaves of sugar beet during the main growing period. AdditionalNa supply resulted in yield increases of up to 87 dt ha-1.

INTRODUCTION

Sugar beet is a natro- and chloro-philic crop and positive effects of Na appli-cations on yield, when K was sufficiently supplied, have been reported in literature(Harmer and Benne, 1945; Truog et al., 1953; Scharrer and Kiihn, 1958). Thereason for the beneficial effect of Na has been related to an improved droughtresistance when the water supply is limited and stimulation of assimilate transport intothe beet root (Durrant et al., 1978; Marschner, 1986). In order to evaluate the Na andK status of sugar beet, a field surevy was conducted in Denmark and northernGermany. The influence of Na fertilization on yield and quality of sugar beet wasassessed in field trials on soils with different soil texture in northern Germany.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In a field survey in 1995 on 114 sugar beet fields in Schleswig-Holstein (northernGermany) and 21 in Juetland (Denmark), younger leaves were collected at canopyclosing. Younger, fully differentiated leaves were taken from a representative area inthe field of approximately 100 m2. Yield data were average values for the field.

1793

Copyright © 1998 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. www.dekker.com

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Dal

hous

ie U

nive

rsity

] at

14:

57 1

2 Se

ptem

ber

2012

1794 HANEKLAUS, KNUDSEN, AND SCHNUG

In 1997 field trials were conducted in Lower Saxony (northern Germany) onthree sites: a sandy loam soil in Timmerlah (10* 27.0'E; 52* 14.1'N), a clayey loamsoil in Mariensee (9* 29.0'E; 52° 33.2'N) and a loamy sand soil in Rietze (10°11.3'E; 52° 27.6'N). Sodium was applied as sodium chloride (NaCl) in amounts of0, 30, 60, and 90 kg ha-1. Available Na contents in soil extracted by 0.025N calciumchloride (CaCl2) (1:10) according to Schachtschabel were 19.6+1.9 ng g 1 inTimmerlah, 24.3±3.7 Jig g"1 in Mariensee, and 14.2±4.6 jig g-1 in Rietze,respectively. Plot size was 102 m2 and variants were arranged in a completelyrandomized block design. Plant samples were collected at the beginning of canopyclosing (macro stage 3; code 33; StrauB et al., 1994) and total contents of K, Na, andCl in plant material were determined by X-RF analysis (Schnug and Haneklaus,1992). For the determination of changes in the water content of the plant tissue,additional samples were taken two weeks after the beginning of canopy closing(macro stage 3; code 39).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The results of the field survey reveal that a balanced K and Na supply wasessential for the realization of maximum yields (Figure. 1). Highest yields could onlybe obtained, if plants contained at least 35 mg K g-1 and 6 mg Na g-1. Yield lossesdue to an unbalanced K/Na nutrition were as high as 60% or 370 dt ha-1. A separateevaluation of both nutrients showed that 38% of all Danish samples and only 1% ofthe German samples were in the range of an insufficient K supply to obtain maximumyields with contents of <35 mg g-1. Four percent of the German samples revealed Nacontents <2 mg g-1 which corresponded with a severe undersupply with this nutrient(Haneklaus and Schnug, 1995). With respect to K:Na ratios, the results show that intotal 62% of the German but only 10% of the Danish samples had an unfavorablenutrient relationship which prevented the realization of maximum yields. Thedistinctively better Na supply of Danish samples can be explained by the fact that Nafertilization is a standard production technique.

It was the aim of the field experiments to study the effect of Na fertilization onyield and quality of sugar beet when K was sufficiently supplied. The results revealthat NaCl fertilization to sugar beet increased uptake of Na and Cl and decreaseduptake of K significantly on all test sites (Figure. 2). The K supply of the crop was inall treatments sufficient and significantly above the critical nutrient value of 35 mg Kg-1 (see above). Differences in the K content between the test sites were not signifi-cant The Na content of the control plots in younger leaves at canopy closing variedbetween 4.8 mg Na g"1 in Rietze and 7.3 mg Na g-1 in Mariensee and Timmerlah andthus reflect differences in the soil Na status of the sites (see above).

Positive effects of Cl as the accompanying anion with Na fertilization can only beexpected if natural Cl contents are below 0.18% Cl in the leaf tissue of sugar beet(Ulrich and Ohki, 1956). But the Cl contents in the control plots were clearly abovethis threshold so that yield effects may be attributed to Na. Both elements, Na and Cl,are known to increase succulence of plants (Lou6, 1978; Zehler et al., 1981). Thiswas reflected by the significant increase in the water content of the vegetative tissuewhen at least 60 kg Na ha"1 were applied (Figure 3). This effect on the water balanceof the plant increases with growth of the crop and may become independent ofseasonal climatic conditions an important buffer mechanism against moderate waterstress.

Sodium chloride fertilization significantly increased net root and sugar yield ofsugar beet while the sugar content was not affected by the treatment (Figure 4). The

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Dal

hous

ie U

nive

rsity

] at

14:

57 1

2 Se

ptem

ber

2012

SUGAR BEET 1795

$

FIGURE 1. Relative yields of sugar beet in relation to K and Na contents inyounger, fully differentiated leaves at begining of canopy closing.

u §••a cC cd es u»

CT- to

to £

eg

II

• Y = 0.029"X +

•-

Y =-0.005*X

K

,'<

6.138; r

" • • • •

+ 4.818;

A__

0.042*X

=99.6% .....P-

r2=94.7% V '

+ 2.475; rz=97.6%

Na

, / Cl

• i-

0 30 60 90

Na-fertilization (kg ha-1) as NaCl

FIGURE 2. Influence of NaCl fertilization on mean Na, K, and Cl contents inyounger, fully differentiated leaves of sugar beet at the beginning ofcanopy closing on three sites in northern Germany.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Dal

hous

ie U

nive

rsity

] at

14:

57 1

2 Se

ptem

ber

2012

1796 HANEKLAUS, KNUDSEN, AND SCHNUG

0.018*X* 90.307r".96.8<*

FIGURE 3. Influence of NaCl fertilization on mean water content in sugar beetleaves at different growth stages on three sites in northern Germany.

Yield

FIGURE 4. Influence of NaCl fertilization on mean Na and Cl contents in rootsand net root yield of roots of sugar beet on three sites in northernGermany.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Dal

hous

ie U

nive

rsity

] at

14:

57 1

2 Se

ptem

ber

2012

SUGAR BEET 1797

strongest yield increase was observed on the clayey loam soil in Mariensee with 87 dtha-1 followed by 73 dt ha-1 on the loamy sand soil. A yield increase of over 41 dtha-1 could still be verified on the loamy sand soil in Timmerlah. The results revealthat even if Na concentrations in the leaf tissue of sugar beet plants at beginning ofcanopy closing amount to 6 mg g-1, fertilization with Na may still have a significantyield effect.

The quality of the sugar beet root was negatively affected by NaCl fertilizationwith an average increase in the Na content in the beet root of 0.29 meq kg-1 (f.w.) per10 kg Na ha-1 as NaCl (Figure 4). The K content in the beet root was not affected bythe treatments. With a view to yield and quality of the sugar beet crop, Na fertilizationof 60 kg ha-1 provided best results.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the field survey reveal that the optimization of die K:Na relationshipwith special emphasis on Na fertilization may be the most efficient way to improvesugar beet yields in northern German and Danish cropping areas. The results of fieldstudies in northern Germany support the positive effect of Na applications on yield ofsugar beet when K is sufficiently supplied. Yield increases between 41 to 87 dt ha-1

were verified on soils with different soil texture. The Na content in the beet root,which is in addition to the K and (alpha-amino-N content, a quality parameter ofGerman sugar beet factories, is slightly but significantly increased by Na fertilization.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors wish to express their gratitude towards Dr. Kerr Walker (SAC,Aberdeen) for editing and improving the English of this paper. The project was partof a larger survey supported by IMPHOS (Casablanca), KEMIRA (Espoo) and TSI(Washington).

REFERENCES:

Durrant, M.J., A.P. Draycott, and G.F.J. Milford. 1978. Effect of sodium fertiliseron water status and yield of sugar beet. Ann. Applied Biol. 88:321-328.

Haneklaus, S. and E. Schnug. 1995. Nährstoffversorgung von Zuckerrüben inSchleswig-Holstein und Jütland. Die Zuckerrübe 4:182-184.

Harmer, P.M. and E.J. Benne. 1945. Sodium as a crop nutrient. Soil Sci 60:137.

Loué, A. 1978. Le sulfate de potasse. Au service de l'agriculture (SCPA, Mulhouse)No 2 - Dossier K2O, No 11.

Marschner, H. 1986. Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants, pp. 341ff. AcademicPress, London.

Scharrer and Kühn 1958. Die Wirkung des Natriums im Rhenaniaphosphat. Z.Pflanzenernaehrung und Bodenkunde 62:128-137.

Schnug, E. and S. Haneklaus 1992. Sulfur and light element determination in plantmaterial by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Phyton 32:123-126

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Dal

hous

ie U

nive

rsity

] at

14:

57 1

2 Se

ptem

ber

2012

1798 HANEKLAUS, KNUDSEN, AND SCHNUG

Strauß, R., H. Bleiholder, T. van der Boom, L. Buhr, H. Hack, M. Heß, R. Klose,U. Meier, and E. Weber 1994. Einheitliche Codierung der phänologischenEntwicklungsstadien mono- und dikotyler Pflanzen. Ciba-Geigy AG, Basel,Switzerland.

Truog, E., K.C. Berger, and O.J. Attoe. 1953. Response of nine economic plants tofertilization with sodium. Soil Sci. 76:41.

Ulrich, A. and K. Ohki. 1956. Chlorine, bromine and sodium as nutrients for sugarbeets. Plant Physiol. 31:171-181.

Zehler, E., H. Kreipe, and P.A. Gething. 1981. Potassium sulphate and potassiumchloride. Their influence on the yield and quality of cultivated plants. IPIResearch Topics No 9. International Poash Institute, Bern, Switzerland.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Dal

hous

ie U

nive

rsity

] at

14:

57 1

2 Se

ptem

ber

2012