Sugarbeet growers are busy guys and gals, and we can appreciate their time and energy when doing our own jobs every day.
SESVanderHave produces seed in the U.S. and plant research trials and disease nurseries in most growing areas. So we know the schedule and effort it takes to grow a crop, from planting to harvest and all that falls in between. And when it comes to seed, our focus, like our grower customers’ focus, is on the issues they face and questions they have in producing a profitable beet crop in their particular growing area.
What’s most important when picking my variety? Is it disease tolerance? Yield? Sugar?
So we’re providing a brief overview (because that’s about all the time a busy grower has to read) that talks about their needs and the focus of our varieties in each U.S./Canada growing area.
Amalgamated Sugar, Idaho
Idaho is an excellent region to grow sugarbeets but there are also many challenges. One of those challenges facing Idaho growers has been rhizomania. Our varieties have had excellent tolerance against rhizomania, and the yields have been increasing every year.
As the different strains of the disease become prevalent, we have been developing genetics with multiple sources of rhizomania tolerance called Tandem Technology, and our new varieties going forward will carry this tolerance.
The curly top virus has long been a problem for the beet crop in Idaho. All varieties produced for this area are required to meet a minimum standard level of curly top tolerance to be sold to the growers. Our SESVanderHave varieties meet that curly top standard and offer good protection against the virus.
Nematode is another big challenge for Idaho growers as many have limited ground and crop options, so rotations have been tight. For years growers have had to rely on chemicals to knock back nematode populations, but some of the chemicals have been phased out and others are extremely hard to get. Our breeders have been able to develop nematode tolerant varieties that can now be grown in fields where growers have been hesitant to plant beets.
Some of the other challenges for Amalgamated growers are root aphid, root maggot, powdery mildew, rhizoctonia in some areas, some aphanomyces and always drought. One of the benefits our breeders discovered was that our Nematode varieties have very good powdery mildew tolerance as well.
SV 36203N RR is a nematode-tolerant variety, with good Rhizomania and Powdery Mildew tolerance, as well as good Curly Top tolerance. It’s one of our top yielding varieties with excellent quality for good sugar/acre.
SV 36106 RR is a proven variety we’ve offered for a couple years. It has fast stand establishment, which is important for so many reasons on irrigated acres. It has good Curly Top tolerance and excellent yield and quality.
American Crystal, Minn. and N.D.
The central and northern Red River Valley in the American Crystal region faces numerous challenges every year to produce a high quality and profitable crop. Soil temperatures are typically slow to warm up, the wind often howls and soil conditions can be marginal for planting and new seedling development, so exceptional vigor and outstanding emergence are critical.
Depending on the spring and late season conditions, Aphanomyces and Rhizoctonia continue to be the most important yield affecting diseases for the majority of growers in all areas. Another disease that’s been showing up in more areas is Fusarium. It used to primarily be a southern valley or Moorhead area issue, but has now moved up the valley through the Ada and Crookston areas as well.
The new genetics from SV, along with proven seed treatments, provide the disease protection from rhizoctonia, aphanomyces and fusarium that is required to ensure good stands early and throughout the growing season. SV offers a complete fungicide pack that includes Metlock, Rizolex and Kabina, providing both contact and systemic protection with this combination, as well as varying modes of action for protection from many soil borne funguses including Rhizoctonia, Fusarium and more.
SV varieties also provide maximum rhizomania protection with Tandem Technology (TT) and protection against root aphids with proven results, in both on farm and research trials. Both of these affect harvest with high tare and affect purity with loss of sugar, so ultimately affecting revenue per acre.
SV RR333TT is a Tandem variety approved last year for the grower that offers the full gamut of disease protection; strong rhizomania, aphanomyces, rhizoctonia and fusarium tolerance. This is one to position where you need overall strength against disease.
SV RR243 is a new root aphid variety with exceptionally strong tolerance to three major diseases in the valley; rhizoctonia, aphanomyces and fusarium. It also has top-end yield potential.
SV RR244TT is a new variety that shows excellent yield potential with ultra-low loss to molasses resulting in higher recoverable sugar/ton and higher payments per ton. It’s excellent under heavy rhizomania pressure, as well as rhizoctonia and aphanomyces. It will work well in many regions in the RRV but won’t tolerate high levels of Fusarium.
SV 36273 RR was a new root aphid variety last year with very good rhizoctonia tolerance that produces above average sugar. It’s also shown some very high yield results this fall.
SV RR336 was our most popular variety sold in 2015. It’s a root aphid variety with a balanced disease package for both aphanomyces and rhizoctonia that will produce anywhere in the valley. Not knowing what next year brings, the balanced disease tolerance will bring stability to your farm.
SV 36272 RR is a proven yielder with very good sugar, giving it the potential to surge in revenue per acre on the right ground. Its root aphid tolerance has helped growers the last couple years.
California
The Brawley, Calif., sugarbeet growing area is a unique growing region in that the crop is planted in late fall and grown over the winter months. No sugarbeets are stored in the Brawley growing area. All sugarbeets are processed straight from the field because of the heat. All growers have a scheduled harvest and will have to harvest beets beginning in April and continue to harvest when directed from the factory until the last of their acres are completed usually in mid-July. Growers select the varieties they will use based on early-, mid- and late-harvest.
One of the issues growers face is extreme heat at the time of germination in the fall when planting. Selecting varieties that are more tolerant to heat during germination and emergence is key. With the extreme heat toward the end of the season as well, it’s important to select varieties that will tolerate root rot.
Another disease issue that continues to affect Brawley growers is rhizomania. As changing strains of rhizomania have developed in the area it’s important to stay ahead of the disease by adding more sources of tolerance in our varieties. Our SESVanderHave Tandem Technology varieties with multiple sources of rhizomania tolerance have done a great job. One of those genetics, variety SV143NTT, was approved this year for Brawley growers.
Nematode is another issue that affects Brawley growers with tighter rotations. We have been able to provide varieties with excellent tolerance to nematode pressure.
White fly, flea beetle and other insects are a problem when the beets are small and so the growers have to be very vigilant in getting insecticide on the beets.
SV2013 RR is an early- to mid-season variety that’s low in nitrates, so exceptional in quality. It was the highest in sugar over the last two years.
SV RR401 is an early- to mid-season variety that was top in sugar purity, tons and sugar per acre over the last two years.
SV2014N is a mid- to late-season variety with great nematode tolerance and a low root rot score. It has great emergence and excellent sugar per acre.
SV143NTT is a mid- to late-season variety with the Tandem source of rhiozmania tolerance. It is also a nematode tolerance variety with exceptional sugar per acre and was the highest yielding variety tested over the last two years.
Lantic Sugar, Alberta
Canada is a very unique area since the growers fight virtually no disease pressure at this time. Growers maintain a strict minimum of a four year rotation which cuts down on disease incidence. The growing season that far north is slightly shorter than other areas in the U.S. and so selecting varieties that will mature quicker is the key.
In the Alberta area, the main criteria for varieties is a high sugar per ton average. We are working hard to provide varieties with excellent sugar per ton as well as good yield.
SV 36152 RR has been our best performing variety the last couple years with its high yield and excellent quality for above average sugar.
Minn-Dak
The southern Red River Valley is an area like the rest of the valley that faces a wide array of diseases. It’s typically wet and windy in the spring and cover crops are planted on a majority of the acres to help combat those conditions. Getting good emergence and a nice even stand of seedlings through those tough springs and early diseases like aphanomyces and rhizoctonia is a challenge.
However, Minn-Dak growers are also seeing increased incidence of late-season rhizoctonia. Their ag staff is encouraging growers to use a fungicide seed treatment, like Kabina for example, to get their beets off to a healthy start so they are stronger later on, but also to plant varieties with good rhizoctonia tolerance for late-season protection.
SV RR631 is an excellent rhizoctonia variety adapted to the Minn-Dak region. It’s above average sugar/ton and low loss to molasses makes this product good for longer hauls.
SV RR633 is recognized for its excellent tolerance to aphanomyces and fusarium, making it a good fit for the northern area. However it also has moderate tolerance to rhizoctonia, so can be planted in most areas of Minn-Dak having multiple disease issues.
SV RR746 is a new high sugar variety up for approval, with above average Aphanomyces and moderate rhizoctonia tolerance. It’s a balanced variety for disease and good sugar/acre that can be planted throughout the area.
Sidney Sugar, Montana
Growers in western Montana and eastern North Dakota face several disease issues each year. Like the RRV, they see rhioctonia and aphanomyces and must plant varieties with good tolerance to both. Like other areas, they too are seeing an increase in some strains of rhizomania again and so need the strong tolerance our Tandem Technology can provide. Having nematode tolerance is a must for Sidney growers and some areas need strong Fusarium tolerance as well.
SV RR433N is a nematode variety with a nice balance of yield and sugar that is good in Aphanomyces and tolerates root aphid.
SV RR444NTT is a nematode variety with excellent yield potential that combines good rhizomania tolerance with moderate tolerance to rhizoctonia. This second year variety looks to solve most of the disease problems facing Sidney growers today and will be available pending approval for 2016.
No matter what part of the U.S. you grow beets, there are issues that are similar, but can be very different depending on the conditions too. It’s the job of seed companies like SESVanderHave to keep ahead of these issues and breed and produce genetics that work for you. Our extensive research on new genetic lines and product development is key to offering reliable seed solutions for growers across all regions of the U.S.