Effect of Salinity and Potassium Enrichment on Some Growth Attributes in Sugar Beet (Beta vulgaris L.)

A pot experiment was conducted during winter growing season of 2014 at Homs Agriculture Research Center, General Commission for Scientific Researches (GCSAR), Syria. A factorial experiment arranged according to complete randomized block design with six replications was used. A combination of four levels of saline irrigation water (tap water, 2,000, 4,000 and 6,000 ppm), with three K levels (180, 360 and 540 ppm), was used to evaluate the effects of saline irrigation water and K enrichment on some growth attributes of two sugar beet varieties (Semper and Alligator). Results showed that all studied growth attributes, i.e., leaf area (LA), leaf number (LN), total dry matter (TDM) and net assimilation rate (NAR) were decreased under salinity stress conditions compared to the control, while K enrichment significantly increased some of the studied characters such as LA, TDM and NAR, but the differences in LN were apparent according to increase in K levels. The variety Semper surpassed significantly the variety Alligator in LA, TDM and NAR. Results also indicated a significant interaction between salinity  potassium enrichment, varieties  potassium enrichment and salinity  varieties.