An Alternative to the Water Scarcity in Conventional Summer Sugar Beet (Beta vulgaris L.) Cultivation: Autumn-Sown and Non-irrigated Under the Aegean Coastal Zone Conditions

Summer sugar beet growing regions such as the Central Anatolia Region of Türkiye face a shortage of irrigation water. For this reason, we tested autumn sowing sugar beets without irrigation in the Aegean Coastal Zone, where sugar beet cultivation is not practiced. The two-year study was conducted in a split-plot experimental design with four replications. Terranova, Aranka and Dionetta cultivars were sown on 1 December 2020 and 30 November 2021. Ridge sowing was implemented to minimize the possibility of bolting and to prevent them from being affected by excessive December, January and February rainfall. There was no frost-induced seedling loss during the winter growing season and no bolting in the following spring in both years. Growing degree days (GDD) from emerging to harvest (1956 vs. 1497) were higher in the yielding year. Higher solar radiation in the first year (757.30 kWh m⁻² vs. 673.80 kWh m⁻²) during the vegetation period was positively associated with GDD and yield. Ridge sowing and Terranova cultivar performed superbly in terms of root yield, sugar content, SPAD value and Fv/Fm. It was concluded that autumn-sown sugar beet can be grown in the Aegean Coastal Zone as an alternative to the Central Anatolia Region without irrigation with the ridge sowing method.