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ABSTRACT
A survey was conducted in order to estimate micronutrient levels in plants and soils of 215 farms in Greece cultivated with sugar beet. Soils were analyzed for particle-size distribution, pH, organic carbon (C), CaCO3, and DTPA-extractable copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), and manganese (Mn). Sugar beet leaves were analyzed for the same metals. Also, aboveground biomass (top), root, and raw sugar yields were recorded. DTPA-extractable Fe and Mn were above critical levels in all cases, whereas Cu and Zn were above critical levels in 49% and 24% of the soil samples, respectively. Concentrations of the four metals in plant tissue were similar or higher than the sufficiency range. Concentrations of DTPA-extractable Fe and Mn, and plant Zn and Mn, were significantly and negatively correlated with soil pH. Soil pH and DTPA-extractable Fe seemed to have a significant positive impact on root, top, and raw sugar yields. However, in all cases, less than 14% of the variance of the sugar beet parameters was explained by soil characteristics.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Hellenic Sugar Industry funded this research. The authors wish to express their appreciation to the agronomists of the Hellenic Sugar Industry for their valuable assistance in the sampling of soils and sugar-beet leaves.
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