Effect of Foliar Nutrition of Potassium and Silicon on Yield and Quality of Sugar Beet in Unusual Windy Conditions in 2014 and 2015

The effect of foliar nutrition of potassium and silicon was tested on tuber yield and technological quality in small field trials based on favorable precipitations in 2014 and dry conditions in 2015. The results of observation confirmed a positive effect of nutrition on yield and technological parameters of sugar beet in both years. In the first year of the experiment, foliar nutrition increased tuber yield in the range from 3.705 to 4.818 t ha(-1) and from 1.559 to 17.556 t ha(-1) in he following year. Sugar content of tubers was increased about 0.6-1.13% on the average of both years. For most variants, the content of molasses producing potassium was decreased and sodium content was also reduced in all variants. The level of harmful nitrogen was decreased by 5-7.5 mg 100g(-1). This finding confirmed the positive effect of silicon as anti stress factor eliminating the negative effect of drought and thus limiting the abiotic damage of sugar beet.