By Thursday, May 21, Red River Valley sugarbeet farmers had a pretty good idea if they were going to have to replant.
Sugarbeet farmers in American Crystal Sugar Company, Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative and Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative, planted early in good soil conditions.
Rain, wind and frost all arrived in mid-May as the sugarbeets were emerging.
“Based on what I have heard, we have a real good idea that in general the crop made it through the frost okay,” said Tom Peters, NDSU Extension agronomist. “There will be some fields that will be replanted – here and there. For some farmers it’s going to be an issue to plant those. In general, we made it through okay.”
Sugarbeet farmers were very worried about temperatures in the low 30s and upper 20s degrees F on May 18 and May 19. They were also concerned about wind gusts up to 40 mph just ahead of the frost.
Peters and others completed an assessment of sugarbeet fields on Wednesday, May 20.
Frost damage appears as a bluish cast on the leaves and stem, followed by the tissue turning black. It happens quickly.
The sugarbeets were generally in the cotyledon stage when frost arrived and survived the event.
“We know that the cotyledon stage is when the sugarbeet is its strongest, its toughest. Its survivability is the best,” Peters said. “When sugarbeets start to develop those first true leaves, that is the most vulnerable time of the growing season.”
Rainfall amounts of 2-4 inches in mid-May were extremely beneficial to the 2015 crop, he said.
The water served as a buffer or insulating blanket for the tiny plants.
Cover crops seeded on about 45 percent of the sugarbeet acres also provided insulation from the frost and shelter from the wind. Peters hopes to expand his research program in the area of cover crops, and would like to see sugarbeet growers use cover crops on about 75 percent of acres.
“The weather is another indication of what the purpose of cover crops are, and the importance of cover crops,” he said.
In general, a small grains cover crop is planted a few days before sugarbeet planting – and this has been a very good year for small grains.
Peters has noted that in many cases, the cover crop is outgrowing the sugarbeet this year.
“Our challenge will be to not allow the cover crops to get too big,” he said. “We’ll have to keep an eye on that.”
Peters thinks some sugarbeet plants were damaged by wind as they were spun out of the ground and flew off like tiny helicopters.
It is still early in the growing season, so sugarbeet farmers will replant as needed.
Source: www.minnesotafarmguide.com