Studies on allometric growth relationships of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) grown in nutrient culture

The effects of genotype and seed size on the growth of sugar beet seedlings in liquid nutrient culture medium were examined. Seed size was positively correlated to seedling weight at the 5/7-leaf stage of development but had little influence on mean total root to shoot ratio. At the 8-leaf-stage there was considerable variation in the fibrous root to shoot ratios between individuals in each of three cultivars. Nevertheless, the mean root to shoot ratio of seedlings of each cultivar was relatively similar. However, large genotypic differences were detected in the depletion of specific elements from the nutrient culture solution, this being particularly so for nitrogen, potassium and sodium.