The Effects of Saline Soil, Irrigation, and Seed Treatments on Sugarbeet Stand Establishment

Sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.) is among the most salt tolerant crops, but is reported to be less tolerant during germina­ tion and emergence. In trials in the western San Joaquin VaHey and the Imperial Valley, The emergence of fall­ planted sugarbeet seeds under a range of moderately saline conditions (2 to 10 dS m") was studied. At electrical con­ ductivity (EC.) levels greater than 6.0 dS m'! in a gypsum dominated soil in the San Joaquin Valley, rates of emer­ gence and seedling dry weight were reduced, but not final stand counts. Priming seed before sowing reduced the effects of salinity on emergence rates and resulted in sig­ nificantly larger seedlings in late fall. In the Imperial Valley, transient increases in soil salinity created by surface irrigation practices did not affect seedling emergence com­ pared to sprinkler irrigation treatments with lower aver­ age EC•. Imidicloprid increased seedling emergence and survival in the Imperial Valley but had no effect in the San