Early signs from trials and commercial crops suggest sugar beet is performing well despite late drilling and above average rainfall, according to SESVanderHave.
“The rains washed away the threat of virus yellows, good summer temperatures have helped the crop to pile on yield in recent weeks, while the incidence of foliar disease is mercifully low so far, says trials manager, Wayne Tonge.
“We’ve started harvesting replicated plots testing the next generation genetics and treatments with our bespoke mobile tarehouse,” he adds.
In parallel, broader screening of commercial performance across the network of Club SV Growers continues apace, with early indications of good yields, sugar contents and low impurities from new varieties Gadwall and Hoopoe.
“Results from our beet cyst nematode trials for Hoopoe are demonstrating superior performance to Jackdaw which many growers planted this spring,” says Wayne.
Mobile strip harvest trial
Seed sales advisor, Hector Adcock, adds that the mobile strip trial harvest is proving popular with Club SV growers and is generating considerable interest due to how easy and fast the process is.
“It’s giving growers some useful insights into performance. Combined with our drone image analysis, linked weather station network and the immediacy of generating data and the ability to sequential harvest using GPS locators, it’s proving an extremely powerful tool.”
There is, however, considerable field variability as expected after late drilling and high pressure from damping off and soil pest complex, but results are giving growers insight into real-time performance on their own farms with their own inputs and agronomy, he concludes.
