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pubmed:abstractText |
With a cultivation area of 1.75 Mio ha and sugar yield of 16.7 Mio tons in 2006, sugar beet is a crop of great economic importance in Europe. The productivity of sugar beet is determined significantly by seed vigour and field emergence potential; however, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying these traits. Both traits exhibit large variations within sugar beet germplasm that have been difficult to ascribe to either environmental or genetic causes. Among potential targets for trait improvement, an enhancement of stress tolerance is considered because of the high negative influence of environmental stresses on trait parameters. Extending our knowledge of genetic and molecular determinants of sugar beet germination, stress response and adaptation mechanisms would facilitate the detection of new targets for breeding crop with an enhanced field emergence potential.
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