Sugar beet focus
Seven new varieties added to 2020 recommended list
• Ongoing improvement in sugar yields • Resilient crop in diffi cult conditions • First ALS herbicide tolerant variety
S
even new varieties from three breeders have been added to the Recommend- ed List (RL) for 2020 – including the fi rst ALS herbicide tolerant sugar beet variety.
Published last month, addi- tions to the new recommended list are Advena KWS and Smart Janninka KWS, both from KWS UK; BTS 4100 from Limagrain UK; and Vixen, Conger, Puffi n and Lightning – all from SES- VanderHave UK. The new varieties refl ect on- going improvements in yield and other key characteristics, such as early-sown bolting. Notable this year is the introduction of ALS herbicide tolerant sugar beet va- riety Smart Janninka KWS to the UK market.
Challenging season Despite a challenging growing season, control varieties in the trials achieved a mean yield of 112t/ha (adjusted) with new va-
rieties offering up to a 4.0% yield increase above that, highlighting the resilience of sugar beet in dif- fi cult conditions.
Recommended list chairman
Mike May said 2018 was a diffi - cult growing season for the com- mercial crop and trials alike. “Ad- verse weather delayed drilling followed by a prolonged drought and a late burst of nitrogen when the drought fi nally broke in the autumn.”
Breeders had put much effort into producing low bolting varie- ties specifi cally for UK conditions, said Mr May. Six of the new vari- eties did not bolt in any of the RL normal sown trials drilled after 15 March during any of the three years of testing from 2016 to 2018.
“
Breeders have put much eff ort into producing low bolting varieties
Specific traits These were Advena KWS, BTS4100, Vixen, Conger, Puffi n and Smart Janninka KWS. How- ever Smart Janninka KWS did bolt when sown early and Mr May said it was not recommended for sowing before 15 March. That said, it was good to see
Smart Janninka KWS on the list as the fi rst ALS herbicide toler- ant variety. “The herbicides for use with this variety – as an in- tegral part of the Smart Conviso system – have now been approved and should be available for the 2020 sowings,” said Mr May. Before ordering BCN, AYPR partially resistant or ALS tol- erant varieties, growers are ad- vised to discuss options with their contract managers, agronomists or breeders who will have more information on varietal perfor- mance and use in the presence of specifi c challenges.
Further details
The recommended list table can be found on the BBRO website at
bbro.co.uk with supplemen- tary tables showing three-year data for each variety, plus seed provenance, juice impurities and
How to decipher recommendations and descriptions
The Recommended List is a joint venture between the British Beet Research Organ- isation and the British Socie- ty of Plant Breeders. It is gov- erned by a board with equal representation from each or- ganisation.
Some 13 yield trials are
sown each year with the best trials harvested and the re- sults used to determine the fi nal list. Early-sown bolters and disease susceptibility are determined in separate trials that are not taken to yield. Alongside this, the De- scriptive List is for varieties with special traits where ex- tra data is required for grow- ers to make an informed deci- sion. For 2020, the Descriptive List is for enhanced rhizom- ania resistance (AYPR) and ALS herbicide tolerant vari- eties.
vernalisation experienced during early-sown bolter trials over the last three years. The average plant popula- tion harvested in the 2020 rec- ommended list table was 106,000/ ha and average sugar content 17.9%. Numbers of early-sown bolters are from trials sown in late February and up to the fi rst fi ve days of March.
New varieties offer yield increases of up to 4% above controls
60 ANGLIA FARMER • JUNE 2019
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