Journal of Crop Production and Processing

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Naji M, Diyanat M, Habibi D, Sadeghi shoa M, Wiesany W. Evaluation of Changes in Root Yield and Quality in Different Cultivars of Autumn Sugar Beet (Beta vulgaris L.) Exposed to Gamma Ray Radiation under Salinity Stress Condition. Journal of Crop Production and Processing 2025; 15 (1) :1-18
URL: http://jcpp.iut.ac.ir/article-1-3315-en.html

Extended Abstract
Introduction: Salinity stress is one of the known and important limitations of agricultural production all over the world. The production of salt-resistant plants is one of the most important achievements of genetic modification using nuclear radiation, as it helps realizing increase in the cultivated area in dry and saline conditions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of gamma radiation on the root yield and quality attributes of sugar beet under salinity stress conditions.
Materials and Methods: This research was conducted to evaluate the root yield and quality of three sugar beet cultivars treated with gamma ray radiation and grown under normal and salinity stress conditions in Qom province, central Iran, in 2018 and 2019. The experiment was conducted as a split factorial using a randomized complete block design with three replications. The main plots included irrigation water at two levels (non-saline water and saline water with EC = 7-10 dS m-1) and subplots included a combination of sugar beet cultivars (Sharif, Antec, and Yudoro) and gamma radiation (control, 50, 100, 200 and 400 Gy). The traits evaluated in this research included bolting percent, root yield, sugar percent, sugar yield, white sugar yield, sodium, potassium, harmful nitrogen, alkalinity coefficient and molasses. The percent of stem growth was calculated based on the number of plants that had produced stems, relative to the total number of plants in each plot. 
Results and Discussion: Salinity stress and gamma radiation at levels of 100 and 200 Gy led to an increase in potassium concentration in the Sharif cultivar, but no significant changes were observed in the Antec and Yodoro cultivars. Salinity stress led to a decrease in root yield in all three cultivars tested. Eudoro cultivar had a higher mean root yield than others, both under non-saline irrigation conditions (74.52 tons ha-1) and under salinity stress conditions (46.59 tons ha-1), and in contrast to Sharif cultivar, the mean root yield of this cultivar was higher in both levels of salinity. Salinity stress led to an increase in the percent of sugar in Yudoro, Antek, and Sharif cultivars by 23.6%, 23.7% and 19.32%, respectively. Gamma radiation at the level of 200 Gy resulted in the lowest percent of sugar (16.07%) and no radiation (control), as well as radiation at the level of 400 Gy resulted in the highest percent of sugar (17.31% and 17.14%, respectively). The sodium concentration of the root in all three cultivars was almost the same under non-saline irrigation conditions, which increased in all three cultivars with the imposed salt stress. With implementing salinity stress, the alkalinity level increased in all three cultivars, but the lowest increase occurred in the cultivar Antek and the highest in the cultivar Sharif, indicating that the cultivar Antek had a higher tolerance to salinity than the other two cultivars. Gamma radiation resulted in the lowest sugar percent (16.07%) at a level of 200 Gy but non-saline irrigation (control) as well as radiation at a level of 400 Gy resulted in the highest sugar percent (17.31% and 17.14%, respectively). The interaction effect of salinity stress and gamma radiation on the concentration of harmful nitrogen in roots was significant at the 1% probability level. Gamma radiation under non-saline irrigation conditions led to an increase in the concentration of nitrogen in roots, the highest levels of which occurred at levels of 100 and 200 Gy, but under saline irrigation conditions, no significant difference was observed between the levels of gamma radiation in terms of the concentration of nitrogen in roots.
Conclusions: Salinity stress in all three cultivars resulted in a decrease in white sugar yield. The Yudoro and Sharif cultivar had the highest and lowest white sugar yield, respectively. The higher salinity tolerance in Antek and Yodoro compared to Sharif cultivar seems perhaps from undergoing of osmotic regulation and avoiding excessive sodium absorption and hence ion toxicity in the latter cultivars compared to Sharif. Therefore, Antek and Yodoro cultivars outyielded the Sharif cultivar.