THE QUALITY OF SUGAR BEET SEEDS AND THE WAYS OF ITS INCREASE - Ecological Consequences of Increasing Crop Productivity - page 176

18.1 INTRODUCTION
To ensure the competitiveness of the sugar beet in the global market, it is necessary
to create the conditions to ensure high technological level of growth, which meets the
requirements of sustainable development, to implement high environmental standards
for the sugar beet processing and to orient the consumers to their market. Many factors
determine sugar beet productivity in the intensive agriculture: soil and climatic con-
ditions, the implementation of high-productivity hybrids, the qualitative preseeding
processing of seeds, the use of modern techniques and technologies, fertilizers, reli-
able plant protection, high-tech improvements on the factories, etc. All these factors
can reduce the sugar beet productivity significantly, but it is not possible to achieve
the maximum yield of culture without the use of high-quality seeds of new hybrids.
The quality of sugar beet seeds is determined by the complex of genetic factors
that are controlled by plant breeders and agroecological and agrotechnical conditions
of their growing and methods of post-harvest and preseeding seed preparation with
modern technology use [1]. Therefore, we have focused only on those methods in-
fl uencing directly the yield and quality of sugar beet under its cultivation with and
without plantings methods and in the process of its preseeding preparation. The most
important indicators of seed quality are its viability, germination energy, fi eld germi-
nation, one sprouting, uniformity, and stability in the size and forms.
Among the many factors infl uencing the growth, development, and yield forma-
tion and quality of seeds of great importance are the processes of controlled regulation
of fl owering and pollination of seed plants, especially under growing hybrids of seeds
based on cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS). It is next to impossible to avoid the forma-
tion of a large number of small seeds that under the current standard [2] do not refer to
the seeds and is lost by the post-harvest purifi cation of heap without solving the prob-
lem of the methods improvement of the directional regulation of growth processes.
Also, these methods aim at limiting the growth of tall plants, which improves the
conditions of seed harvesting, reduces the losses, and increases the yield and quality.
To limit growth of sugar beet seed plants, they use manual, mechanical, and chem-
ical minting. This method provides more productive seed plants through central stem
growth limiting, which results in the more active entry of side stems nutrients, which
improves their growth and development and, ultimately, increases their productivity
[3].
With the removal of an apical meristem of the central stem, its growth and devel-
opment is suspended. But not only the point of growth under the minting is removed,
some part of the stem with fruit on it is removed as well; as a result, redistribution of
nutrients and other substances necessary for the growth of both central and side stems
takes place. Instead of entering the point of growth for central stem growth, develop-
ment, and new small fruits formation, these substances enter the fruit remaining on the
stems of seed plants. Application of minting forms larger seeds, and it accumulates
more nutrients as well. Application of this agriculture method in the early phase of
stem formation accelerates the start of seed plants fl owering within 2-3 days. This
method is easier and ends at earlier term, which in turn accelerates the maturation of
seeds within 2-3 days. Also, a positive effect of the minting on the seed quality, espe-
cially when the minting is done in the late phase of stem formation, is observed [4].