ALB dependiente de una Línea de Control 1 ALB: Línea a Ritmo.

5.1.1 Water

At final harvest, there was 98% greater dry matter in the irrigated compared with the dry treatment (Table 4). Low water availability is a major cause of crop yield reduction (Boyer, 1982). Various functions of water in plants include maintaining cell turgidity for structure and growth, transporting nutrients and organic compounds throughout the plant. It also used in many reactions including photosynthesis and is largely used for daily transpiration (White and Hodgson, 1999). It is important to note the dry treatment only source of water was 10 mm, received at each of the fertiliser applications including the control. In a more realistic situation rainfall would be a major factor, which is removed as the experiment was situated inside a rain shelter. Therefore, there are very wide yield differences due to differences in water availability.

Water stress suppresses the duration of plant photosynthesis. The irrigated treatment (2760 oCd or 190 DAP) accumulated higher thermal time than the dry treatment (2602 oCd or 177 DAP) to reach 95% yield (Table 5). This shows that due to greater water availability irrigated plants grew for 13 more days after planting to reach 95% yield. Water is essential to maintain turgor pressure. When plant cells dehydrate pressure is lost and growth is impeded (Farooq et al., 2009). Water stress greatly suppresses photosynthetic growth rate. The rate of maximum dry matter accumulation or linear growth rate (LGR), as shown in Table 5, was 89% higher in irrigated (12.14 kg ha-1 oCd ) than in the dry treatment (6.44 kg ha-1 oCd). This indicates that irrigated plants grew more efficiently and at a higher rate. As shown in Figure 1 leaf expansion is inhibited under a slight decrease in water potential. As water potential decreases, photosynthetic rate decreases, all due to water stress (Taiz and Zeiger, 2010).

5.1.2 Nitrogen

Nitrogen is an essential element in promoting yield in crops. In the dry treatment 300 N increased dry matter production by 25% compared with the control (Table 4). Nitrogen is required for DNA, RNA, protein (which are the basic components of enzymes),

46 chlorophyll, ATP, auxins and cytokinins (Andrews et al., 2013). Nitrogen is a major component in chlorophyll. Higher amounts of nitrogen lead to greater production of chlorophyll in the chloroplasts. As a result of that, the rate of photosynthesis increases and this leads to an increase in plant growth. High nitrogen application rates increased LGR. In the dry treatment 300 N increased LGR by 59% compared with the control (Table 5). There was no significant effect of 50 N on LGR, which is expected as yield did not increase between these treatments.

In fodder beet the main purpose of nitrogen is to stimulate the production of foliage canopy to allow for radiation interception especially straight after sowing. Malnou et al.

(2006) found that 100 kg N was needed to reach 85% canopy cover in sugar beet. In this experiment, the result suggests that a higher nitrogen rate of 300 N in the dry treatment improved canopy growth for light interception in the crop, and lead to a larger increase in plant dry matter.There was no significant affect of 50 N on crop dry matter production. This suggests that 50 kg N in the dry treatment did not increase radiation interception sufficiently to cause a yield difference. In the irrigated 50 N and 300 N nitrogen treatments dry matter production increased by 18% and 23%, respectively, compared with the control. However there was no significant difference between 50 N and 300 N, which shows that higher N application was not beneficial towards reaching greater yield.

Under irrigation, high nitrogen application rates would be expected to increase canopy cover resulting in greater radiation interception. A possible reason for why 300 N did not have greater yield compared with 50 N is that the 300 N plants had reached 95% maximum yield 9 DAP or 102 oCd before 50 N and the light intercepted at the end of the crop duration did not result in net photosynthesis. To support this theory it is to be noted that on the 19th April 2017 or 193 DAP (Table 4), 300 N irrigated had significantly greater yield. It was only until a month later on the 17th April 2017 or 211 DAP that the 50 N treatment had similar total yield to the 300 N treatment. Under irrigation increasing nitrogen application rate increased LGR, which was also found in the dry treatment. In irrigated 50 N and 300 N treatments LGR increased by 29% and 46%, respectively, compared with the control (Table 5). This result shows that 300 N grew faster than the 50 N during its linear growth phase, but experienced a slower growth rate near the end of

47 the crop duration. The 50 N did not experience this decline in photosynthetic growth rate and was able to reach a similar yield to the 300 N treatment as shown by the gompertz curve in Figure 5. This further supports that fodder beet grown with high N and adequate water availability accumulated dry matter at a faster rate and ceased growth earlier.

A possible reason for why nitrogen increased dry matter production is that in water stressed conditions the crop may stop taking up N. Firstly because of a reduction of transpiration. Secondly once the plant has extracted all N out of the macro pores, N is only available in the smaller pores which the roots cannot extract as too much pressure is required to utilise it. Once irrigation is restored it leads to increased transpiration and, or water is refilled into the larger pores leading to the movement of N into the rooting zone, making it more available for uptake (Gonzalez-Dugo et al., 2010). Increased N uptake after a drought period has been attributed to the stimulation of soil microbial activity and mineralisation of soil organic N due to the availability of moisture (Wright and Davison, 1964). Therefore due to increased water availability it increases the ability to take up either fertiliser and soil N which leads to large increases in growth. This could also explain why in the 50 N dry treatment, LGR did not significantly increase whereas it did in the irrigated 50 N irrigated treatment. The 300 N under dry conditions had a significant increase in yield because it may have meant that enough N was available within the macropores and therefore did not need more water to extract N within the smaller pores.