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The influence of sowing rate and row spacing on the plant density and yield of red beet

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

L. R. Benjamin ,
R. A. Sutherland  and
D. Senior
L. R. Benjamin
Affiliation:
National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne, Warwick, CV35 9EF
R. A. Sutherland
Affiliation:
National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne, Warwick, CV35 9EF
D. Senior
Affiliation:
Stockbridge House Experimental Horticulture Station, Cawood, Selby, N. Yorks, YO8 OTZ
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Summary

Three experiments examined the effects of sowing rate and between-row spacing on the plant density and yield of red beet.

The proportion of seeds which produced mature plants decreased when the mean distance to the nearest neighbour was less than 5 cm. In these experiments, this distance was governed by within-row spacing. Thus, plots with narrow-spaced rows achieved a higher plant density than those with wide-spaced rows, when sown with the same weight of seed.

Total yield of beet per unit area decreased with increasing plant density. Maximum yields per unit area of small beet were achieved at high plant densities, whereas maximum yields of large beet were achieved at low plant densities. The effect of between-row spacing on yield was much smaller than that of density, and was important only for crops harvested early. Shoot yield per unit area was measured in two experiments and was not affected by row spacing in either. Shoot yield was not affected by plant density in one experiment, but, in the other, tended to a maximum value with increasing plant density.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 104 , Issue 3 , June 1985 , pp. 615 - 624
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

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