The objective of this research was to study the seed stalk morphology, cluster yield and quality of 20 mono- and multigerm breeding lines as well as cultivars of red beet. The seed plants derived from the roots of the two sizes, during 2012 and 2013 in field conditions, were evaluated. Large stecklings formed plants with a higher number of shoots and lower percentage of the single seed stalks, and produced higher yields, and thousand-cluster weight compared to small stecklings. The monogerm genotypes developed higher plants with higher number of shoots and a lower number of a single seed stalks than the multigerm ones. The open-pollination and hybrid cultivars, as well as the cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) and their maintainer fertile lines, mostly presented comparable values of the studied traits. The cultivars yielded better and formed higher plants, and produced seeds with better quality than the CMS lines, which in turn formed more shoots and a higher number of bushes with the main stem plants compared to the cultivars. The characteristics of the generative plant development stage of different genotypes of red beet will be useful in breeding programs designed to create new, especially, monogerm hybrid cultivars. ...
The aim of the research was to improve the germination parameters of red beet monogerm clusters using pre-sowing treatments. Red beet (Beta vulgaris L.) clusters of two monogerm breeding lines, AR79A and W411A, differed in the initial germination capacity, were studied. Five seed treatments including rubbing, leaching for 4, 8 and 24 hours, and soaking for 24 hours, were performed. Based on the germination test carried out at 15 and 20ºC, the germination traits, such as the mean germination time (MGT), coefficient of uniformity of germination (CUG), coefficient of velocity (COV), germination capacity (GC) and germination rate (GR), were measured. Compared to the control, treatments used in the study improved the most of measured germination features for both tested lines. The leaching of clusters for 24 hours yielded the best enhancement in most of the germination traits. The rubbing was the least effective technique in terms of improvement in the germination parameters. The germination of treated clusters at 15 and 20°C presented comparable, and better than the control, values of germination features. The interaction between treatment method and germination temperature showed that leaching of clusters for 24 hours and germination at 20°C was the technique that successfully influenced the majority ...
