Seed Based on Focused Research and Grower Resonse

Sugarbeet growers across North America look to Betaseed for meeting their sugarbeet seed needs. For nearly 40 years Betaseed has provided strong, vigorous, and disease tolerant sugarbeet seed varieties to meet sugarbeet grower operating goals.

Through its diverse breeding program staffed by a team of three Ph.D. scientists, plus plant breeders and pathologists accessing a vault of genetics, Betaseed maintains focused research efforts on meeting stringent seed quality standards while responding to grower needs.

Betaseed has knowledgeable representatives in all markets, and we encourage growers to contact their local representative to learn more about Betaseed sugarbeet seed varieties for their growing area.



Michigan Sugar Company:

Sugar quality is rapidly becoming a key factor for Michigan Sugar growers. Betaseed's focus on variety development has been to increase quality characteristics with stronger disease packages, along with meeting the specialty needs for other pests in the Michigan Sugar growing area.

Michigan Sugar growers are excited to plant the new, Roundup Readyr high sugar type varieties being offered by Betaseed. New BTS 17RR32 offers very strong rhizomania tolerance with high root aphid resistance, without compromising quality and yield. BTS 17RR62 is also a high quality, strong rhizomania tolerant and root aphid resistant variety with very high Recoverable White Sugar per Acre (RWSA).

As some growers require a nematode tolerant variety, Betaseed will again offer the high-yielding Beta1643N, a conventional Nematode Specialty variety also having strong root aphid resistance and rhizomania tolerance. Lastly, Betaseed is offering Beta 5833R, one of the highest yielding and highest sugar varieties in official tests. It has not disappointed Michigan Sugar growers.



Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative

One of the challenges of developing sugarbeet varieties for the SMBSC growing area is to meet the disease challenges while maintaining grower payments. With the Roundup Ready sugarbeets introduction in 2008 growers discovered that planting Roundup Ready varieties equates to strong disease package tolerances and great varietal performance.

New BTS 97RR17 offers growers a disease package including very strong Aphanomyces tolerance, good Cercospora tolerance, and very good rhizomania tolerance with great sugar content and strong revenue potential.
BTS 95RR03 was the first, fully approved Roundup Ready variety available to SMBSC growers in 2008. It did not disappoint as it is a strong performer that does not forsake disease tolerance for payment potential.

It features very strong Aphanomyces and Cercospora tolerance with great revenue potential. BETA 4811R has been the strongest Aphanomyces tolerant variety ever to be grown by SMBSC growers and maintains its reputation by providing growers with consistent yields under heavy disease pressure. Excellent emergence and Cercospora leaf spot tolerance are also key strengths of this variety.

BETA 1322R is now approved as an Aphanomyces Specialty variety and unlimited in quantity for grower use in 2008. It also brings high Recoverable Sugar per Ton (RST) and Recoverable Sugar per Acre (RSA), and provides growers the highest revenue per acre available as shown in recent SMBSC OVT results. BETA 1591R, is second only to BETA 1322R in grower revenue per acre over the last three years of OVT results. BETA 1591R provides growers with additional tolerance to rhizomania along with improved Cercospora leaf spot tolerance.



Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative:

For 2009 MDFC will allow unlimited sales of Roundup Ready varieties to growers. Betaseed is excited about the portfolio of varieties being offered to growers for this next planting season. Betaseed continues to concentrate on developing varieties with strong disease resistance to rhizomania, Aphanomyces, Fusarium, Cercospora, and this year new Roundup Ready Rhizoctonia tolerant variety is being introduced.

This next planting season, growers will be able choose from five Betaseed Roundup Ready varieties. BTS 85RR02 was a leading variety last year and we again expect it to be a popular choice for growers due to its overall excellent disease package.

It offers growers excellent Aphanomyces protection as well as being one of the best varieties for Recoverable Sugar per Ton (RST). New in 2008 BTS 86RR44 has been tested for three years in the official trials. It offers growers very good Aphanomyces tolerance with high yield potential. BTS 77RR24 and BTS 77RR54 are two new varieties that have two years of testing in the official trials. Both are high yielding varieties and offer high Recoverable Sugar per Acre (RSA).

BTS 77RR24 has a moderate Aphanomyces rating and an excellent Cercospora Leaf Spot rating. BTS 77RR54 ranked with some of the best varieties for RSA this past year offering very good combined Cercospora and Aphanomyces tolerance. BTS 77RR74 is also new this year and is a Rhizoctonia tolerant variety. With the Rhizoctonia tolerance, it also provides protection against other diseases such as Aphanomyces, Fusarium, and Cercospora.

All Betaseed varieties for the Minn-Dak area are rhizomania tolerant. Betaseed continues its long-standing tradition of providing sugarbeet growers with top performing varieties.



American Crystal Sugar Company:

The move to Roundup Ready varieties has been swift and well liked by growers. Betaseed was able to offer growers a good selection of high yielding varieties that provided a good disease package with tolerance to rhizomania, Aphanomyces and Cercospora. All varieties sold this past year were Aphanomyces Specialty varieties.

Betaseed will offer a larger and more diverse selection of varieties for the upcoming year with a total of seven varieties approved for sale. With Aphanomyces continuing to be a concern, growers again are looking to BTS 85RR02, this variety provides some of the best protection against Aphanomyces as well as being one of the higher sugar Roundup Ready varieties available.

The combination of good disease tolerance and performance in field this past year continues to make it one of the most popular varieties in the market. Like BTS 85RR02, BTS 86RR44 and BTS 86RR66 performed well in grower fields and proved to be some of Betaseed's highest yielding varieties. They both offer a very good level of Aphanomyces protection and like all of Betaseed's Roundup Ready varieties, provide a strong level of rhizomania tolerance.

The strength of BTS 86RR88 has been a very good level of Aphanomyces tolerance and the higher level of sugar that it offers. It has been a strong field performer for growers and offers that extra boost in sugar that many of the other Roundup Ready varieties do not offer.
There are three new choices for growers in 2009.

Leading the way in high revenue per acre is BTS 87RR68, which has proven over two years to pave the way for revenue per acre. It is a variety that is best suited for low disease conditions. BTS 87RR38 is a high yielding, moderate disease tolerant variety; it has performed well in trials and should fit well into the market.

BTS 87RR58 will have limited availability for 2009, and is a high yielding variety that has very good Cercospora tolerance. Betaseed continues to offer two non-Roundup Ready varieties; Beta 1305R and Beta 1301R. Both varieties are approved as Aphanomyces Specialty varieties providing a good level of disease tolerance, and Beta 1301R provides an added bonus of Rhizoctonia tolerance.


Sidney Sugars

Betaseed stands ready to support Sidney Sugars grower by offering a total of eight varieties to growers. Of these eight, six are Roundup Ready sugarbeet varieties and two are conventional varieties. BTS 47RR41 is the newest of the new varieties with very strong rhizomania tolerance and high combined tolerances of Aphanomyces, Fusarium and Cercospora, with the added benefit of root aphid resistance.

BTS 47RR31 is Sidney's #1 variety in RSA and has offered the highest return to growers based on 2-year OVT results. It has very good tolerance to Aphanomyces, Fusarium, Cercospora and full root aphid resistance. BTS 47RR01 also offers a disease tolerance package with very good Cercospora, excellent Aphanomyces and Fusarium tolerance, with great root aphid resistance. BTS 47RR11 is a well-balanced disease tolerant variety offering very good RSA and RST.

BTS 47RR21 offers good RSA and RST with very high Aphanomyces tolerance, and good Fusarium and Cercospora tolerance. New to this area, a Curly Top Specialty variety, BTS 36RR90 offers excellent RSA, good RST and is a high quality variety with low Sugar Loss to Molasses (SLM). For growers requiring disease tolerance to sugarbeet cyst nematode Beta 1624N stands up to strong pressure under nematode infestation while also offering additional disease tolerance.



Western Sugar Cooperative

Roundup Ready rhizomania tolerant varieties have made a quick transition in this area, and Betaseed is ready to meet all grower seed needs. Six Roundup Ready varieties are offered for planting in 2009 and growers can choose varieties that best fit their operation. All offer strong rhizomania tolerance with varying levels of additional disease tolerance characteristics.

In the Western Sugar North area, new BTS 37RR22 offers growers well-rounded performance with combined high tolerance to curly top and Fusarium, and a low SLM. Also new for 2009 is BTS 38RR9N, a Roundup Ready sugarbeet variety with cyst nematode tolerance, and very good curly top and Fusarium tolerance. Growers had very positive results with BTS 35RR03, BTS 36RR40, BTS 36RR50, BTS 36RR60, and BTS 36RR90 in 2008. In addition to varying levels of curly top and Fusarium tolerance, all offer root aphid resistance and low SLM.

In Western Sugar South, two new Roundup Ready varieties have been approved for 2009. BTS 67RR05 and BTS 67RR25 provide growers with more choices in battling Aphanomyces, Fusarium, Cercospora, and root aphid resistance. BTS 67RR25 also offers tolerance to curly top for growers concerned with this disease.

New in 2008, BTS 66RR70 has high Rhizoctonia tolerance, with moderate tolerance to Cercospora leaf spot, Fusarium, and Aphanomyces, and strong root aphid tolerance. Also introduced in 2008, BTS 66RR30, BTS 66RR50, and BTS 66RR60 have rhizomania tolerance combined with tolerance to Cercospora leaf spot, Fusarium, and Aphanomyces. All offer varying levels of root aphid resistance and provide growers with strong packages of disease tolerance and great performance.

For growers wanting to complement their operations with conventional varieties, Beta 7341R is always a good choice offering strong rhizomania and Rhizoctonia tolerance, with good Cercospora, and Fusarium tolerance. And growers requiring a strong performing nematode tolerant should choose Beta 1634N, a variety that is dramatically improved over past nematode tolerant varieties.



Wyoming Sugar

Betaseed is ready to support growers in the Wyoming Sugar area and given approval to market, will provide the strong performing varieties with multiple disease tolerances that are important to growers in this area.


Amalgamated Sugar Company

Growers in Idaho were very excited to transition to Roundup Ready varieties in 2008. Betaseed offered over ten Roundup Ready varieties and will continue this trend, offering growers great opportunities with strong variety performance. All varieties are rhizomania tolerant and have been specifically developed for growers in this region.

New in 2009 is BTS 28RR4N, Idaho's first Roundup Ready cyst nematode tolerant variety. Betaseed has responded to growers concerned with nematode pressure by offering a variety with strong nematode tolerance, and high tolerance to disease pressure caused by curly top and Fusarium. Also, new for 2009 are BTS 27RR10 and BTS 27RR20, with both providing very good RSA and RST.

BTS 27RR20 offers more curly top tolerance while BTS 27RR10 offers more protection against Fusarium pressure. Betaseed continues with top performing varieties introduced in 2008, such as BTS 25RR06 which offers very good curly top tolerance with good Fusarium tolerance.
BTS 25RR07 is a well balanced variety with good RSA and RST, and good, solid performance over the last two years of official trials. It also offers a very good combination of curly top and Fusarium tolerance.

BTS 26RR11 was the top performing variety in 2006 official trials due to its very good RSA. It also offers growers very good curly top tolerance and good Fusarium tolerance. BTS 26RR14 is a vigorous variety with excellent curly top tolerance, and good combined Fusarium and powdery mildew tolerance. Growers should contact their local representatives to learn more about Betaseed's newest varieties, BTS 28RR04 and BTS 28RR24.



California Markets

In the Imperial Valley of California Betaseed states that Beta 6155R is performing very well. This rhizomania tolerant variety offers growers an alternate source of rhizomania to help meet strong rhizomania disease pressure growing challenges and offers good powdery mildew and Cercospora leaf spot tolerance.

New in 2008, Beta 4521R offers exceptional sugar combined with excellent performance and good curly top tolerance. It has become a grower favorite. Beta 4430R with its strong rhizomania tolerance combined with very high Recoverable Sugar per Acre (RSA) will continue to be a performer. All Betaseed varieties offered in California provide good levels of rhizomania tolerance, and varying levels of bolting resistance.


Editor's note: Roundup Readyr is a registered trademark used under license from Monsanto Company. Betaseed is a registered trademark of Betaseed, Inc. Butzer is the corporate marketing manager for Betaseed.