Studies on the hfluence of light interception upon the self-sterility of sugar beet

Abstract

For the purpose of obtaining inbred lines of sugar beet for F1 hybrid production, the authors studied selfing from la.52 to 1954. Self-fertilization of sugar beet is ordinarily very rare since sugar beet is self-sterile. In oLlr experiments, however, successful set resulted from crosses between two clonal parts of a longitudinally divided beet root. At the early bolting stage, one part was treated with leaf clip-ping or with covering by black cotton cloth and a marsh reed curtain, and the other part lvas not treated. The highest seed setting rate was observed under short day (15.6% for the all treated flowers) and seed set was always higher in the SD treated parts. Noticeable differences were seen in the oxidation-reduction potential of treated and untreated parts of the same root of male (anther) and female (ovary) flowers. Differences in nutrient status (N, P, K) determined by petiole test in fresh plants were also observed. From the experimental results the conclusion was drawn that this method might prove useful for obtaining inbred lines successfully.