RESPONSE OF SUGAR BEET PLANTS TO DIFFERENT COMPOST TYPES an‎d BORON SPRAYING an‎d THEIR EFFECT ON GROWTH CHARACTERS an‎d QUALITY UNDER RAS SUDR GONDITIONS

Two field experiments were carried out in Ras Sudr Research Station, Desert Research Center, at South Sinai Governorate, Egypt during two successive growing winter seasons i.e. 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 to study the effect of nine treatments of compost produced from animal waste, town refuse and plant waste applied at three rates (10, 20 and 30 m3/fed.) and three rates of foliar application of boron (control, 0.4 and 0.6 g/L.) and their interactions on growth (leaf area, root length, root diameter and total soluble solids (T.S.S %), root fresh and dry weight / plant, top fresh and dry weight / plant) and chemical composition (sugar, juice purity and crude protein %) of sugar beet plants. Split plot design was used. The results indicated that the highest values of growth parameters were recorded in plants treated with 30 m3 / fed. compost produced from animal waste in the first and second seasons. There were significant differences in chemical composition in sugar beet of roots among the tested sources of different compost types during first and second seasons. The highest values of sugar and crude protein percentage were recorded in plants treated with 30 m3/fed. animal waste. While, the highest value of juice purity % was obtained by using 30 m3 / fed. of animal waste and 10 m3 / fed. town refuse at the first and second seasons, respectively. Boron foliar application showed significantly responses in the two seasons with respect to growth characters of sugar beet. Increasing boron foliar application from 0 to 0.4 g/L. increased growth characters of sugar beet at the first and second seasons. Application of boron spray exerted a significant increase in sugar, juice purity and crude protein %. The interaction between compost types and boron foliar had a significant effect on leaf area in the first and T.S.S. % in the second season. The interaction between different compost types and boron foliar had a significant effect on sugar, juice purity and crude protein %.