YIELD AND QUALITY OF SUGAR BEET AS AFFECTED BY POTASSIUM AND SALICYLIC ACID FERTILIZATION LEVELS IN SALINE SOIL

In the Al-Hamul district of Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, Egypt, two field experiments were conducted in the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 seasons, to study the impact of combining K-fertilizer and salicylic acid spraying on sugar beet growth, yield and quality in saline soil. The present work included sixteen treatments, which were combinations of four K-fertilizer treatments: (24 kg K2SO4/fed; 48 kg K2SO4/fed; 24 kg K2SO4/fed + two sprays potassein and 48 kg K2SO4/fed + two sprays potassein) and four foliar doses of salicylic acid: (zero, 100, 150 and 200 ppm/fed). A strip plot design was utilized with three replicates. The results showed that sugar beet fertilization with 48 kg K2SO4/fed + two sprays of potassein produced the highest values of root diameter, fresh and foliage fresh weights/plant, root, top, and sugar yields/fed, potassium content, sucrose and extracted sugar percentages while significantly reducing proline and sodium contents in comparison to other potassium treatments in both seasons. Spraying beets with 200 ppm salicylic acid produced higher values of root diameter, fresh and foliage weights/plant, sucrose, extracted sugar percentages and quality index as well as higher yields of root, top and sugar/fed. However, sodium, alpha amino-N contents and sugar lost to molasses % were insignificantly affected in both seasons. The combination of adding beet plants with 48 kg K2SO4/fed + two sprays of potassien along with spraying 200 ppm salicylic acid/fed recorded the highest values of root diameter, proline content, root and top yields/fed in both seasons.