EFFECT OF GENOTYPE ON MORPHOLOGICAL AND QUALITY FEATURES OF SUGAR BEET.

The importance of sugar beet is great because it gives root yield of about 50 t ha-1 and 30 - 40 t of fresh leaves and heads of beet that is used for feeding cattle. In the Republic of Serbia are favorable agro-ecological and soil conditions for the production of sugar beet. In the structure of total arable land of the Republic of Serbia, sugar beet accounts for about 2% where 94% of it is in Vojvodina, which has the most favorable climate and soil conditions, tradition and proximity of capacities for root production and processing. In addition to its adaptability to climatic conditions, sugar beet reacting quickly to changes in meteorological factors which greatly affect root yield and sugar content. In the three-year trials it was examined morphological characteristics and the amount of α-amino N in five genotype of sugar beet. According to the survey results, the largest number of leaves at the genotypes at technological maturity had the genotype Otis (35.33) while the smallest had had genotype Severina (15:53). Genotype Otis, as a whole, had the highest leaf area (X =10193.13 and Xmax = 11483.79), and the lowest had genotype Severina (X = 4242.33; Xmin = 3982.44). The lowest average value of the amount of α-amino N indicators were found for Chiara and Laetitia (X = 2.23). The observed traits were largely depended on the genotypes and years. Genetic variation is necessary for successful breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]