We humans tend to stick with what’s familiar to us. When we drive to our place of employment, we park in the same place every day. When we go to church we sit in the same pew each week. When we find a favorite dish on the menu at a local restaurant, we order it again and again. Once we’ve found something we like or that works for us, we repeat it in our everyday lives. Growers who have planted Seedex and worked with their local farmer dealers feel the same way about them. They are comfortable working with that familiar face from Seedex and know they are in good hands.
We’d like to take this opportunity to highlight your local Seedex sales managers and what they have to say about a couple of their new and top performing Seedex varieties that will be available to growers in 2016.
Michigan
In Michigan, a new face with Seedex is Dave Wishowski. Dave’s family farms in Michigan, and he has worked in sugarbeets for about 14 years. He will provide and service Seedex varieties to Michigan Sugar growers both in Ontario and Michigan through Winfield and their local agronomy centers. Dave is excited about a couple of new Seedex varieties this year: SX RR1243 and SX RR1245N.
SX RR1243 is a root aphid tolerant variety that has excellent sugar content to go with an exceptional disease package. Its excellent cercospora tolerance is genetic and helps reduce the risk of developing cercospora resistance with the necessary and currently used fungicide programs.
SX RR1245N is a nematode variety with excellent sugar content. Very low loss to molasses enhances grower profitability with this variety. Trial observations throughout the region show this variety as being consistent and well adapted to the entire Michigan growing area.
Idaho
In Idaho, Ben Bingham continues to work with our Seedex varieties. Ben is a beet grower himself and was formerly a member of the Amalgamated ag staff, so he knows sugarbeets, seed treatments and the issue growers in his area face. SX 1521N and SX 1534 RR are two of Ben’s Seedex varieties he wants to recommend to growers, but he also has a new one to share.
SX RR1545 is a moderately tolerant curly top variety with good sugar/ton. This balanced variety will produce an above average crop in many areas.
SX 1521RR is a nematode tolerant variety that is also very rhizomania tolerant and powdery mildew tolerant. It’s a great curly top variety with excellent yield and sugar quality.
SX 1534RR is another great curly top variety that has been a top yielder with excellent quality, resulting in good sugar and revenue per acre.
Minn-Dak
In Minn-Dak, Seedex seed is sold by Brian Clouse. Brian has worked in sugarbeets almost his entire career and seen lots of changes within the beet industry.
SX RR0941 is a variety with above average tolerance to both rhizoctonia and aphanomyces. This variety has good sugar content and works well in many areas of the Minn-Dak region.
American Crystal
American Crystal’s Seedex team is led by Mike Dohman, whose family grows beets and who has worked in sugarbeets for more than 20 years now. Mike has a great group of farmer dealers who grow beets right next to their customers, neighbors and friends. They have built up relationships and earned the trust of those growers. ACSC growers know varieties like Yukon and Winchester, but Mike wanted to highlight a few new ones for growers to consider for 2016.
SX 0842RR is an excellent new rhizoctonia tolerant variety that has a nice balance of sugar per ton and great yield for profitability. The vigor ratings are high as this variety grows quickly in the spring and reaches canopy very rapidly. It is moderately tolerant to aphanomyces as well, but not well equipped for heavier fusarium areas.
SX 0844RR is an exceptional new Root Aphid variety that’s bred to withstand heavy rhizomania pressure with its double tolerant genetics that consistently yield above average even in the absence of disease pressure. Our results show it also has very good tolerance to rhizoctonia, aphanomyces and fusarium making this a product that works across most regions in the Red River Valley. The genetic package also includes very quick emergence in the spring allowing the plants to develop quickly and allow the natural genetic disease tolerance levels to kick in quickly.
SX 0848RR is a very good aphanomyces tolerant variety with moderate tolerance to both rhizoctonia and fusarium that has shown good sugar/acre in our proprietary trials.
Wyoming, Nebraska and Montana
Our breeders have continued to develop varieties with the right combination of traits like nematode, curly top and root aphid tolerance, as well as fusarium, rhizoctonia and aphanomyces disease tolerance for Worland and Western Sugar growers. Seedex continues to seek approval in the trials for varieties that are the right fit for Rocky Mountain area growers. Long time Seedex sales manager Ron Groskopf is watching trial results and ready to deliver.
Western North
SX RR0154N exhibits excellent nematode tolerance, yield and sugar per acre for Western North growers. This variety has a better Fusarium score than the leading genetics being sold today and is not slowed down by either aphanomyces or rhizoctonia.
SX RR0155N has strong tolerance to root aphid, nematode, fusarium and rhizomania resulting in a variety that can be suitable for many regions in the Western North growing area. Watch as this first year entry will certainly be repeated and continue on track for approval for future grower revenue opportunity.
South
SX RR0256N is a highly tolerant root aphid and nematode variety that combines strong aphanomyces, curly top and cercospora tolerance. However its moderate fusarium score indicates it shouldn’t be planted in highly infested fields.
SX RR0257N has exceptional sugar content with excellent tolerance to rhizoctonia but has only a moderate tolerance for nematode and root aphid, as well as moderate tolerance to fusarium.
Worland
SX 0358RR is an excellent yielding hybrid with exceptional rhizoctonia tolerance. Its strong vigor, emergence and plant growth are ideal for getting a fast start to the growing season. This variety performs best in areas that have relatively moderate Fusarium infestation.
There’s nothing like seeing a familiar face and visiting with someone like your local Seedex dealer, who knows the challenges you face in selecting the right beet varieties for your acres, because they face those same challenges and grow beets right there with you. Count on that knowledge and expertise and feel comfortable in the decisions you make together.