Plastic response to early shade avoidance cues has season-long effect on Beta vulgaris growth and development.
Early-emerging weeds are known to negatively affect crop growth but the mechanisms by which weeds reduce crop yield are not fully understood. In a 4-year study, we evaluated the effect of duration of weed-reflected light on sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) growth and development. The study included an early-season weed removal series and a late-season weed addition series of treatments arranged in a randomized complete block, and the study design minimized direct resource competition. If weeds were present from emergence until the two true-leaf sugar beet stage, sugar beet leaf area was reduced 22%, leaf biomass reduced 25%, and root biomass reduced 32% compared to sugar beet grown season-long without surrounding weeds. Leaf area, leaf biomass, and root biomass was similar whether weeds were removed at the two true-leaf stage (approximately 330 GDD after planting) or allowed to remain until sugar beet harvest (approximately 1,240 GDD after planting). Adding weeds at the two true-leaf stage and leaving them until harvest (~1,240 GDD) reduced sugar beet leaf and root biomass by 18% and 23%, respectively. This work suggests sugar beet responds early and near-irreversibly to weed presence and has implications for crop management genetic improvement.
['Adjesiwor|Albert T|AT|https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0047-8771', 'Ballenger|Joseph G|JG|', 'Weinig|Cynthia|C|', 'Ewers|Brent E|BE|https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6647-7475', 'Kniss|Andrew R|AR|https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2551-4959']
environmental plasticity light quality weed competition weed removal timing yield potential