Seek advice before ordering sugar beet seed

Growers looking to order sugar beet for drilling in 2025 have six new varieties to consider on the British Beet Research Organisation recommended list.

New varieties are Chyma, Josephina and Smart Uma – all from KWS UK; Magpie from SesVanderHave; and ST Tweed and ST Trent from Strube UK. Three varieties were withdrawn which means the 2025 list comprises 22 varieties.

Tolerance

An increasing number of varieties on the recommended list have built-in traits designed to combat challenges faced by the crop. They include tolerance to Beet Cyst Nematode, AYPR rhizomania and yellowing virus.

But growers are being advised to discuss any specific requirements before placing an order because data is limited on the tolerance of the new varieties to foliar diseases such as rust, powdery mildew and cercospera.

Chyma KWS, for example, has cercospora tolerance but is unsuitable for early sowing. In recommended list trials, it produced 101.0% adjusted tonnes at 16.9% sugar content – but the trials did not determine the degree of its cercospora tolerance.

Smart Uma KWS is ALS tolerant – likely to produce higher yields when used with partner ALS herbicides than with conventional products. Treated with non-ALS herbicides, in trials it yielded 95.3% adjusted tonnes with 17.1% sugar content.

Mike May, who oversees the annual recommended list, said: “Growers should discuss options with the BBRO and breeders who will have more information on their performance and use in the presence of the specific problem.”

Other varieties

In terms of the other new varieties, Josephina KWS from KWS UK produced 99.5% adjusted tonnes at 17.3% sugar content. This was the highest on the list. It had the lowest number of bolters in the early sown bolter trials.

ST Tweed from Strube UK produced 98.2% adjusted tonnes at 17.0% sugar content. It had lower establishment than the other varieties.

Magpie from SesVanderHave UK produced 97.7% adjusted tonnes at 17.1% sugar content. ST Trent from Strube UK was only slightly behind, producing the same adjusted tonnes at 17.2% sugar.

The highest yielding variety remains BTS1915 – delivering 102.2% adjusted tonnes at 16.9% sugar. Breeder Betaseed said it had shown consistent high yield potential over all the seasons it had been tested in UK official trials.

“More importantly, it has now proved its high yield potential and robustness both in very testing seasons of virus and drought, but also in the difficult winter of 2022/23, where frost damage was a real concern.”

With data on some traits somewhat limited, the BBRO also said it should be noted that many differences between individual varieties were small and not statistically significant and should be treated with caution.