Physiological Analysis of the Effects of Different Soils on Sugar Beet Crops in Different Years

The physiology of variation in the yield of sugar beet has previously been studied using several varieties and fertilizer treatments at Rothamsted (Watson 1947, 1956; Watson & Watson 1953; Adams 1961). Until now, comparisons have not been made on different soils. That yields differ considerably between years, and between districts in any one year, is evident from the returns of sugar beet factories. Yates & Patterson (1958), and unpublished accounts of the six-course rotation experiments at Rothamsted and Woburn, also show how yield differs in different years and on contrasting soil types. These results are especially valuable because the same sites, fertilizers and treatments were used each year. On the Woburn sandy soil, sugar yield in some years was only half the maximum recorded, and sugar content only four-fifths (Table 1). Differences in yield between crops