Cytokinin Level As an explanation for why Ripener consis- tently gave improved yields, Jerry Stoller of Stoller Enterprises explained, “The reason why sugarbeet leaves tend to stay green during the period of when sugar transport is needed, is that the nitrates in- crease the cytokinin level of the plant cells. “This does not allow the ABA to build up in plant cells in order to cause both sugar translocation and leaf cell maturity. “Ripener is designed to decrease the
cytokinin level in the plant cell. This allows the plant cell to increase levels of ABA and cause sugars to move. Also, by reducing cytokinins, it inhibits cell division of the newer leaves which tend to come out of the crown.” (Cytokinin and ABA are both plant hormones.) n
Editor’s note: Hopkins is Associate Profes- sor at Brigham Young University and can be contacted via e-mail at hopkins@byu.edu or call 801-422-2185.
As with yield results, Sugar Mover alone
did not result in a difference over the untreated control.
Beet Roots It is also noteworthy that nitrate concen- trations in the sugarbeet roots were 14–15 ppm lower than the untreated control when either Ripener or Sugar Mover were applied separately, which was not statisti- cally significant. However, nitrate concentration was sig- nificantly reduced by 78 ppm when these products were applied in combination. High nitrates interfere with sugar
extraction and lowering this value with ap- plication of these products is beneficial.
www.SugarProducer.com 25
