Seed Priming as a Tool for Optimizing Sugar Beet Canopy Traits, Root Yield and Technological Sugar Yield

Seed priming is a proven method for enhancing early plant development and stress resilience, yet its field-level effects on sugar beet performance remain underexplored. This study evaluated the impact of seed priming on emergence dynamics, canopy traits, root yield, and sugar productivity over three growing seasons with variable weather conditions in central Poland. We found that primed seeds consistently improved emergence uniformity, plant spacing, and early growth, resulting in a more regular canopy structure and greater biomass accumulation. Sugar beet root yield increased by 6.2–7.7%, primarily due to higher average root mass, while final plant density remained unaffected. Although sucrose content was not significantly altered, sugar beet roots from primed seeds exhibited lower concentrations of molasses-forming substances (Na+, K+, and α-amino nitrogen). As a result, biological and technological sugar yields increased by 5.9% and 6.1%, respectively. Our results illustrate how seed priming enhances both agronomic performance and processing quality of sugar beet under field conditions, offering a low-cost strategy for stabilizing yield in temperate environments.