Introduction

Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) is an industrial crop, grown as a sugar crop contributing ~25% of total sugar production worldwide. In Pakistan, however, sugar is mostly extracted from sugarcane. Sugar beet has high sucrose content, even more than that in sugarcane; and sugar beet yield can be sustained, or even can be further increased by potassium (K) fertilization. In Pakistani soils K concentration is higher, because these soils are developed from mica minerals. However, its high concentration in soil K does not represent plant available K for sustainable plant growth. Due to strong binding within clay minerals, K is not released at required rate for the optimum plant growth. K increases root growth and improves drought resistance and plays a critical role in enzyme activation, osmoregulation, and charge balance in plants (Cakmak, 2005). This study was conducted to investigate the effect of K on the sugar beet yield.