Sustainable water management in sugar beet cultivation: Balancing irrigation efficiency and crop yield

Water-saving management strategies are crucial for sustainable sugar beet production. However, existing global research on water-saving irrigation (WSI) methods for sugar beets yields inconsistent conclusions regarding their effects on crop yield, necessitating further systematic evaluation. This study systematically evaluates the effects of three WSI methods—furrow, drip, and sprinkler irrigation—on sugar beet yield across varying climatic conditions, soil characteristics, and irrigation regimes. We conducted a comprehensive literature search in Google Scholar, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Web of Science for peer-reviewed articles published before January 2024. Using keywords such as "irrigation" and "sugar beet yield," we performed an exhaustive search with an expanded scope and manual screening. Based on strict inclusion/exclusion criteria, we selected 86 eligible articles comprising 706 datasets for meta-analysis. Key findings demonstrate that drip and sprinkler irrigation significantly increased sugar beet yield (p < 0.05), whereas furrow irrigation showed no statistically significant improvement. Furrow irrigation was effective only in water-sufficient regions but underperformed in other environments. Drip irrigation exhibited optimal environmental adaptability, maintaining stable yields under water-deficient conditions, albeit with reduced effectiveness in neutral soils. Sprinkler irrigation improved yield in low-rainfall, high-temperature regions but displayed limited environmental adaptability. Notably, under high-temperature conditions, sprinkler irrigation exhibited significantly lower water-use efficiency than drip irrigation. Therefore, from a water conservation standpoint, drip irrigation is the superior choice in high-temperature environments. This study provides empirical evidence to support region-specific irrigation strategies, highlighting the comprehensive advantages of drip irrigation. Future research should integrate crop rotation cycles and fertilizer management to optimize irrigation practices for sugar beet production further. • Sprinkler irrigation shows high yield gains in alkaline soils but low water-use efficiency at MAT> 20ºC. • Drip irrigation demonstrates stable yield benefits across diverse climate and irrigation conditions. • Drip irrigation shows reduced effectiveness in neutral soils (pH 6.5–7.5, effect size d = −0.083).