Barclay Crop Protection

Beet growers face establishment tightrope

As beet drilling gets underway in earnest, growers have been warned that 2008's exceptional beet yields shouldn't invite expectations of a repeat performance in 2009 unless undivided attention is given to strong, effective crop establishment.

As establishment is one of the most critical factors affecting sugar beet yield, Bryan Pickles of Barclay Crop Protection believes there's very little room for error in the crop's early stages.

"It's not dissimilar to walking a tightrope," he says.  "Get the balance right and you're fine, but as soon as one minor error creeps in, there's a tendency to overcompensate and the error is magnified.

"The net effect of that magnification will either be a reduced yield, or an increased spend on inputs and therefore a reduced margin," he warns.

Mr Pickles, technical sales executive with Barclay, says growers need to aim for between 80,000-100,000 plants per hectare, the population shown to deliver maximum yields under UK conditions.

"But meticulous attention to detail is required to achieve this, not least to a robust, well-planned herbicide programme to minimise early competition from weeds in the crop."

While last year's weather patterns turned out to be beneficial for the bumper crop, its effect on seedbeds this spring will probably turn out to be less than favourable.

"The heavy rainfall of 2008 will have had a deleterious effect on soil structure, while cold seedbeds brought about by this winter's weather will increase the risk of patchy, uneven emergence."

Open stands where beet has failed to germinate will quickly populate with weeds, as cold weather has been shown to have a stimulating effect on many weed seeds.  Weeds emerging with the crop are known to exert the greatest yield loss, so growers should be sure of their intended weed control strategy before drilling, and have it ready and waiting for deployment.

"Residual treatments are a no-brainer for the backbone," advises Mr Pickles, "including metamitron, which with a season long limit of 15kg/ha gives growers plenty of flexibility in its use.  Later treatments with other active ingredients are possible, but by going in right at the start you're putting the max into your crop.

"Later treatments are only increasing the margin for error, and the risks (and costs) associated with the necessary overcompensation to get the crop back in balance.

"Seismic (metamitron) is best applied pre-emergence at 3kg/ha on mineral soils and insures against a wide range of weed threats including chickweed, fat-hen, knotgrass and mayweed," he notes.

"Assuming that most growers will choose the flexibility and assurance of a three-spray programme, Seismic's rate flexibility makes it ideal as a 'through the programme' partner.  Combine it in a three- way mix with a contact product like Betanal (phenmedipham) and perhaps a sulphonyl urea such as Debut (triflusulfuron-methyl) for strong activity in crops showing patchy emergence and where you need something that's effective at pre-, peri- and post-emergence.

"Not everyone sees the benefits of using a residual herbicide for the beet crop, but you only had to look at some of last year's beet crops to identify those who had chosen not to go down the residual route."