Influence Of Leaf Age And Nitrogen Deficiency On Photosynthesis In Sugar Beet Beta Vulgaris L Leaves PDF Download

Beetroot (Beta vulgaris) plays an important role world-wide in daily consumption in households. It is produced for its tubers that are used as salads, colourants, nutrient supplements and the production of beetroot juice and wines. Most people buy beetroot with the aim of consuming its tubers and throwing away the leaves. This is because of inadequate information on the importance of beetroot leaves. Beetroot leaves play a major role in human health and consist of high concentrations of antioxidants and other nutrients. Matured beetroot leaves can be harvested and prepared like Swiss chard leaves. Leaves are vital to plants, as they are responsible for providing the plant with photosynthesis during the entire growing season. Leaf removal can also affect yield and quality of beetroot tubers, especially when these are harvested at a higher percentage rate. There is limited information on leaf harvesting of beetroot with regard to its effect on quality and yield of beetroot tubers, therefore this study was envisaged to investigate some of the criteria to minimize nitrogen application in order to obtain better yield and quality of beetroot tubers and leaves. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of nitrogen application and percentage leaf harvesting on the quality and yield of both tubers and leaves of beetroot.