Six steps to build sugar beet yield

1. Aim for 100,000 established plants per ha

Good yields begin with good establishment. Studies have shown that up to 70% of crop potential depends on seedbed conditions at drilling, so be ready to ‘go’ as soon as the circumstances allow and be prepared to up the seed rate when necessary.

The intention should be to produce a fine seed bed that promotes rapid emergence and a uniform plant stand, optimum timing of cultivations will be season dependent.  Under suitable conditions, the yield potential of a crop drilled on 1 March is about 10% higher than one drilled on 1 April.  However, priority should be given to conditions at sowing when soil temperatures should be at least 5°C.

2. Avoid ‘hot’ mixes. Use herbicides that are both highly effective and give good crop safety

A high level of weed control is essential to maximising sugar beet yields: just one tall weed, such as fat-hen, per square metre can reduce yields by 10% or more. But potential is easily checked with so-called ‘hot’ mixes or if applied when the crop is under intense stress, such as prolonged dry weather.

By following the flexible strategy based on Betanal Tandem (ethofumesate + phenmedipham), growers can achieve effective broad-spectrum control from post-emergence applications while being confident of crop safety.

Include an adjuvant oil

Betanal Tandem should always be applied in a mixture with a suitable adjuvant oil such as a 95% methylated oil. The adjuvant oil inclusion rate should vary according to the forecast maximum temperature on the day of application (see table below).

Source: BBRO

Betanal Tandem is physically compatible with any ONE of the following tank-mix partners

3. Prioritise problem weeds

Sugar beet can be an excellent opportunity to tackle hard-to-treat weeds. In all cases, efforts to control problems weeds, such as black-grass, should take priority as control is more readily achieved when the target is small as the risk of failure increases as the target gets bigger.

Achieving this in practice requires careful selection of effective products. In cases where there is a need to observe spray intervals, such as in the case of graminicides, the broad-leaved weed programme can be delayed.

4. Sucking and chewing pests

Virus carrying aphids

Mild winters with few frosts raise the risk of an early aphid flight and the risk of crops coming under the threat of virus before adult plant resistance begins to build, typically 12-13 weeks after emergence.

In seasons where the virus yellows forecast breaches the threshold, the use of a suitable seed treatment such as that containing thiamethoxam should be considered.

Other measures, such as avoiding crop scorch through timely applications of herbicides, will reduce the risk of checked growth and help the crop reach 12 true leaves – when adult plant resistance begins to develop – as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Beet leaf miner (Pegomya hyoscyami)

Although not a significant issue in recent seasons, beet leaf miner, the larvae of the Mangold fly, has caused significant damage in some years.  In 2015 activity was concentrated on a small area around The Wash, but in 2016 the pest was found as far north as Yorkshire.

An application of lambda-cyhalothrin at egg hatch may provide some protection, but with up to three generations per year, maintaining protection may prove difficult.

5. Protect against disease

Powdery mildew and rust are the diseases most common to sugar beet and have the potential to reduce yields by up to 20% and 14% respectively. Of the two diseases, rust is the most prevalent and having a programme to control it is vital.

The first fungicide should be applied at the first signs of disease, typically from mid-July onwards, at full rate to achieve maximum efficacy and protection. A second application should be applied about four weeks later to extend protection into the winter months and maintain a healthy canopy.

With the onset of autumn, the risk of Cercospora leaf increases. The fungus can be seed-borne but it usually overwinters on infected plant material, waiting up to two years for suitable conditions, and travels short distances by rain splash. Infected weeds, especially from Amaranthaceae, such as fat hen (Chenopodium album) are believed to serves as a green bridge for the C. beticola fungus. 

In BBRO trials crops that received two applications of Escolta (cyproconazole + trifloxystrobin) yielded 10-15% more on average than untreated while crops that receive only a single application yielded 5-8% more than untreated.  Where the planned lifting date falls after the end of October a third fungicide may be warranted though beware harvest intervals. Where crops have already received two applications of Escolta a different fungicide will need to be used.

6. Plan lifting

Match your following crop, soil type and delivery schedule to maximise the time the crop spends in the ground. Fungicides have been central to improving crop performance through better disease control, but also by keeping the canopy healthy and greener heading into the winter. To make the most of this benefit however, the crop needs to be left in the ground to keep growing. This will only suit those on light land and where the following crop allows, but trials suggest that if the crop is still growing it pays to leave it in the ground.

If you have any questions, please contact your local CTM or Tweet @Bayer4CropsUK

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