ARS | Publication request: SUGAR BEET SEEDLING VIGOR

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract
Publication Acceptance Date: December 15, 2003
Publication Date: January 17, 2004
Citation: McGrath, J.M. 2004. Sugar beet seedling vigor. Meeting Abstract. W-168 Seed Biology Regional Meeting.

Technical Abstract: Field emergence of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) is a perennial problem for growers, and emergence potential has not been amenable to selection or genetic analyses due to development and environmental complexities. Significant differences in seedling vigor exist among sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) hybrids. Seedling vigor likely is complex but efficient mobilization of seed storage reserves during germination and early seedling growth and in diverse environments must be considered. General increase in seedling vigor may result from hydrogen peroxide generation from oxalic acid, which appears to increase the transcriptional complexity of stress-germinated seedlings, including higher steady state levels of stress-responsive, transcriptional, and signal gene products. Under stress, genes involved in carbohydrate and lipid catabolism were differentially expressed in a strongly emerging hybrid relative to a weakly emerging hybrid. Differential activity of the glyoxylate cycle is a potential physiological marker to differentiate between high- and low-vigor sugar beet cultivars, and suggests a biochemical target for selection for enhanced germination and improved emergence in sugar beet.