Salt and drought stress-mitigating approaches in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) to improve its performance and yield

• Published in: Planta Vol. 258; no. 2; p. 30
• Main Authors: Alavilli, Hemasundar, Yolcu, Seher, Skorupa, Monika, Aciksoz, Seher Bahar, Asif, Muhammad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-08-2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Agriculture; Animals; Beta vulgaris; Beta vulgaris - chemistry; Biofuels; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Climate change; Crop production; Crop yield; Crops; Cultivation; Drought; Drought resistance; Droughts; Ecology; Fodder; Food industry; Forestry; Functional foods & nutraceuticals; Geographical locations; Global climate; Homeostasis; Irrigation water; Leaves; Life Sciences; Metabolites; Nanoparticles; Nutrient status; Pectin; Plant Breeding; Plant Sciences; Raw materials; Review; Salinity; Salinity effects; Salt; Salts; Seed treatments; Sodium Chloride - pharmacology; Stress; Sugar; Sugar beets; Sugarcane; Sustainable yield; Vegetables; Water - metabolism; Water deprivation; Water requirements; High salinity; Sugar beet; Stress mitigating strategies; Drought; Exogenous application
• ISSN: 0032-0935; 1432-2048
• DOI: 10.1007/s00425-023-04189-x

Main conclusion
Although sugar beet is a salt- and drought-tolerant crop, high salinity, and water deprivation significantly reduce its yield and growth. Several reports have demonstrated stress tolerance enhancement through stress-mitigating strategies including the exogenous application of osmolytes or metabolites, nanoparticles, seed treatments, breeding salt/drought-tolerant varieties. These approaches would assist in achieving sustainable yields despite global climatic changes.
Sugar beet (
Beta vulgaris
L.) is an economically vital crop for ~ 30% of world sugar production. They also provide essential raw materials for bioethanol, animal fodder, pulp, pectin, and functional food-related industries. Due to fewer irrigation water requirements and shorter regeneration time than sugarcane, beet cultivation is spreading to subtropical climates from temperate climates. However, beet varieties from different geographical locations display different stress tolerance levels. Although sugar beet can endure moderate exposure to various abiotic stresses, including high salinity and drought, prolonged exposure to salt and drought stress causes a significant decrease in crop yield and production. Hence, plant biologists and agronomists have devised several strategies to mitigate the stress-induced damage to sugar beet cultivation. Recently, several studies substantiated that the exogenous application of osmolytes or metabolite substances can help plants overcome injuries induced by salt or drought stress. Furthermore, these compounds likely elicit different physio-biochemical impacts, including improving nutrient/ionic homeostasis, photosynthetic efficiency, strengthening defense response, and water status improvement under various abiotic stress conditions. In the current review, we compiled different stress-mitigating agricultural strategies, prospects, and future experiments that can secure sustainable yields for sugar beets despite high saline or drought conditions.