BEET 2010: Is variety selection the key to a good crop?
24 June 2010 | jerome
The UK’s leading provider of sugar beet seed claims that varieties are now so good across the board, that it will be other factors which have a greater impact on yield.
Richard Powell, Syngenta's UK crop manager for Hilleshog sugar beet, said:
"Choice of variety can nominally affect yields by a few percent, whereas other factors such as preparing a good seedbed, choosing the optimum time for drilling, ensuring sound establishment and on-going agronomy can affect yields by 10 to 20 per cent."
While his company's output will account for more than 40% of the sugar beet seed to be drilled this year - making it market leader for the third year running - he believes genetic factors, which produce other benefits beyond yield, such as low bolting, reduced tares, ease of harvesting and beneficial haulage should all be taken into account.
"The past season has seen bumper crops. A lot of this is down to good husbandry, but variety selection will have played its part too by safeguarding the big yields. From our varieties we've witnessed big canopies protecting roots against the harsh winter frost and our 'Lo-Tare' roots are proving their worth during dirty harvesting. Trinita, our very low bolting conventional variety, has fared particularly well with lots of positive feedback from growers who have selected it for early drilling."
Mr Powell says Syngenta Seeds has delivered three of the four top varieties for drilling this year and has a range of interesting new material coming forward. He advises growers to consider important factors beyond minor differences in yields reported from trials.
- Ends -
