Volume: 5, 2026
5th International PhD Students’ Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland:
ENVIRONMENT – PLANT – ANIMAL – PRODUCT
Abstract number: P004
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL5.P004
Published online: 22 April 2026
Assessment of sugar beet leaf infection caused by Cercospora beticola in 2023–2025 in Czesławice
Edyta Bernat
Department of Herbology and Plant Cultivation Techniques, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, 13 Akademicka St., 20-950 Lublin, Poland
Corresponding author: edyta.bernat@up.lublin.pl
Cercospora beticola Sacc., the causal agent of Cercospora leaf spot, is one of the most common pathogens infecting sugar beet leaves. Disease severity depends both on cultivar susceptibility and on weather conditions during the growing season, with temperature and moisture playing a particularly important role in pathogen development. The aim of the study was to assess the severity of leaf infection caused by Cercospora beticola in three sugar beet cultivars in 2023–2025 under natural pathogen pressure and to determine differences in disease development between the growing seasons. The study was conducted in Czesławice on soil classified as good wheat complex. Experimental and meteorological data used in the study were obtained from the Research Centre for Cultivar Testing (COBORU, Centralny Ośrodek Badania Odmian Roślin Uprawnych). Three sugar beet cultivars were evaluated: Dolerosa KWS, Jabadu and Vega. The experiment was carried out in one replication without fungicide protection. Leaf infection was assessed every 10 days from the appearance of the first disease symptoms using a 9-point scale based on the mean percentage of infected leaves, where 9 corresponded to 0.1% infection, 8 to 1%, 7 to 2%, 6 to 5%, 5 to 10%, 4 to 25%, 3 to 35%, 2 to 45%, and 1 to 60%. Mean scores were calculated for each cultivar to compare the years, with higher values indicating lower leaf infection severity.
Clear differences in the severity of sugar beet leaf infection caused by Cercospora beticola were recorded during the study period. The highest mean scores were observed in 2023, indicating the lowest disease severity, whereas the lowest scores were recorded in 2024, when the highest disease pressure was noted. The year 2025 was characterised by an intermediate level of leaf infection. Differences in disease development between years may have been associated with meteorological conditions. In the period from June to October, 2024 was characterised by the highest mean air temperature (17.88 °C), the highest rainfall total (333.2 mm), and the highest mean dew point temperature (12.96 °C). In 2023, the greatest number of rainy days was recorded (71), with a comparable rainfall total (324.9 mm). The year 2025 was distinguished by the lowest mean air temperature (16.19 °C) and the lowest rainfall total (234.1 mm), while at the same time showing the highest mean relative air humidity (78.37%). The obtained results indicate that disease severity may have been influenced by weather conditions in individual growing seasons, including temperature, rainfall, and moisture conditions expressed by relative air humidity and dew point temperature. In the year with the highest disease pressure, i.e. 2024, the highest mean leaf infection score was recorded for the cultivar Vega.
Keywords: Cercospora beticola; cultivars; sugar beet; weather conditions
How to cite
Bernat E., 2026. Assessment of sugar beet leaf infection caused by Cercospora beticola in 2023–2025 in Czesławice. In: 5th International PhD Students’ Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland: Environment – Plant – Animal – Product. https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL5.P004