Sugar Beet remains the only UK crop that has continued to deliver a year-on-year yield increase for farmers.
This is down to two things: professional growers and heavy investment in research and development by plant breeders.
After several reviews, NFU Sugar and British Sugar have both recognised the need to reform and improve the way the UK seed account is managed to make sugar beet a much more attractive UK crop.
For growers and breeders alike, it promises to unlock and accelerate access to new, improved genetics and treatments offering greater resilience and higher yields.
In parallel, both NFU Sugar and British Sugar recognised that BBRO trials should provide better information to inform grower choice by testing the physical finished individual seed lots that growers actually sow on farm and mirror commercial growing practice.
Both quantum changes are long overdue and welcomed – although at the time of writing it is still to be announced how or when these will be introduced despite the clear intention to change.
Trials and research
At SESVanderHave, we have been investing in breeding, trials and research in the UK for many years with an extensive trials network and expanding team based at Wellingore, Lincolnshire.
It takes 10 years to develop new genetics and three years to produce high quality seed. Our selection decisions are already based on extensive and robust testing on whole fields, strip trials and replicated trials on farms across East Anglia and the East Midlands.
We use the same commercial primed and pelleted seed lots grown by farmers on farm. It is the same for testing in the presence of beet cyst nematodes – although thankfully the wet weather has effectively removed the threat from virus yellows.
We believe growers and agronomists should have full access to regional data, finished product results and the most recent 2024 field data so they can gauge performance from commercial seed lots before making important decisions on seed choices – the foundation of any successful crop.
Valuable insights
This is one of the reasons we have been growing our Club SV for growers across the region – attracting farmers who want to gain valuable and earlier insights into the performance of new genetics, treatments and agronomy on their own farms.
Maintaining genetic innovations in the sugar beet crop is crucial to maintain competitiveness against overseas producers. Doing so will sustain this important break crop in rotations and the industry and jobs it supports across the country.
Our new pipeline of genetics and treatments have been demonstrating significant gains in performance and will be accessible to growers for 2025 sowing – as well as some exciting new seed treatments.
Ian Munnery is general manager for
SESVanderHave UK. For further details, call 01522 442000 or email
salesUK@sesvanderhave.com.
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