Experience of irrigation of sugar beet in the territory of the Republic of Belarus

The article presents the results of three-year field studies on the effect of irrigation on the yield and quality of sugar beet. When irrigating sugar beet on sod-podzolic light loamy soils, the maximum yield was observed in the variant with the lower limit of moisture regulation of 70% HB in the 0–40 cm layer. The studies have found that irrigation increases the water consumption of sugar beet. Against the background of natural moisture from the 0–40 cm soil layer, water consumption during the growing season on average for 3 years amounted to 3379m3 /ha, with a pre-irrigation moisture of 60% HB – 3521 m3/ha, with a pre-irrigation moisture of 70% HB – 3535 m3/ha and with a pre-irrigation moisture of 80% HB – 3594 m3/ha. The sugar content of root crops in the experimental variants was practically the same, the difference was less than 1%. The highest yield of refined sugar was obtained in the irrigation variant with the lower limit of soil moisture regulation of 70% HB and with fertilizer doses within the range of N90–120P70–100K150–260. With an increase in the fertilizer dose to N150P110K300, no increase in the yield of refined sugar was observed. In general, it can be concluded that irrigation provides a significant increase in yield without reducing the sugar content in root crops