Investor Presentaiton
Climate 2020, 8, 46
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is profound here as it is for other crops (e.g., [9]). As in other studies, the sugar content in the beets
is related to weather and climate (see [15] and references therein). Furthermore, we found the sugar
content in this region is inversely related to yield and modern increases in yield over the period are
associated with decreases in sugar content (e.g., [15] and references therein).
4. Summary and Conclusions
This study examined the relationship between climatic variables such as temperature and
precipitation to the character of sugar beet harvest in the Belgorod Region in southwest Russia from
1954 until 2018. This area is identified as the Central Chernozem Region and is known for being
agriculturally fertile land. The climatic data were provided by the BCHEM and the sugar beet data
were provided by the DAER of the Belgorod Region. Variables that combine the effect of temperature
and precipitation such as the HTC and BCP were used here and related to the sugar beet harvest as
well as the sugar content of the beets themselves. Trends and variability found in these variables were
tested using standard statistical tests. The following results were gathered. These would be useful for
sub-seasonal and seasonal forecasters or the agricultural community in the Belgorod region similar to
the results of [9] used in central USA.
Table 1. Average sugar beet yield (tons ha¯¹), sugar content (%), and HTC (mm °C-¹) during different
phases of El Niño and Southern Oscillation or the North Atlantic Oscillation. A bold (*, **) value
indicates a mean different from the total sample at 90% (95%, 99%) confidence level as in [30].
Phase
Sugar Beet Yield (ton ha-1)
Sugar Content (%)
HTC(mm °C-1)
El Niño (EN)
Neutral (N)
La Niña (LA)
22.6
17.0**
1.05*
23.7
16.1*
1.21*
21.5
16.8
1.05*
NAO-
21.4
16.5
1.07*
NAO+
24.2
16.5
1.18*
NAO-/EN
20.0**
17.2**
0.98**
NAO-/N
23.6
15.9**
1.20*
NAO-/LA
19.5**
16.8
0.98**
NAO+/EN
25.2**
16.8
NAO+/N
19.6**
16.1*
1.12
1.22*
NAO/LA
24.3
16.8
1.14
1.
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3.
4.
The modern climate era has been associated with the strong interannual variability of
meteorological parameters such as temperature and precipitation (the last few decades of
instrumental observations and calculated quantities like HTC or BCP). The trend in HTC has been
downward and the trend (using ANOVA) and variability found in HTC is statistically significant.
The current climate changes are favorable for the traditional branches of agricultural production,
including the cultivation of sugar beet. The yield of sugar beet during years of insufficient
moisture is reduced, but this occurs against the background of a sharp increase in the sugar
content of tubers.
It was found here that the yield of sugar beet in the region currently depends on climatic forcing
(approximately 15%). The factors that caused the corresponding changes were revealed using
regression analysis. This study of sugar content of the tubers during the 60-year period in the
Belgorod Region displayed a nonlinear dynamic relationship.
At high values of HTC, the sugar content decreases, and in years with low values of HTC the
sugar content increases. The correlation coefficient between the sugar content of beet with HTC
is -0.80, which is significant at the 99% confidence level. This reflects an inverse relationship
between the HTC trend and the production for this crop, and this crop has the potential to reduce
the degree of soil moisture deficits observed in recent decades.View entire presentation