The method for accelerated production of table beet seeds and mother plants in one year using low-volume technology

Relevance. The breeding process of root crops, especially those with a biennial development cycle, is a lengthy process. It takes 14-20 years or 7-10 generations to develop a beet variety or hybrid (hybridization or inbreeding, selection, evaluation). Nowadays, the market and large commercial agricultural producers place special requirements on breeding achievements regarding the size of the root crop and its shape, productivity, biochemical composition, and a number of other technological indicators. Therefore, the development of methods that accelerate the introduction and reproduction of new beet varieties and hybrids in demand in industrial production is very essential. Materials and Methods. The selected mother plants were planted in the second decade of January in a winter glazed greenhouse (years 2020-2022) and in a winter polycarbonate greenhouse on tables (years 2023-2024), in pots filled with a peat-perlite mixture. The seed plants were cared for using traditional technology. As the seeds ripened, after 108-120 days, they were threshed and sown in the open ground, simultaneously with the selection crops in the general field starting from the third decade of May. Results. Planting elite mother root crops in protected soil using low-volume technology with supplementary lighting and formation of a seed bush of the first type, together allows to obtain seed progeny from the beet plants, sow seeds of the current year's crop in the third decade of May in open ground and harvest commercial root crops in one calendar year with formed varietal and economically valuable traits.