A sugar beet seed calculator aims to help growers optimise crop yields and profitability by comparing seed treatments. It’s the latest move in an increasingly competitive UK sugar beet market following a decision allowing growers to purchase seed direct from plant breeders rather than having to purchase through British Sugar.
Launched by Germains Seed Technology, the online tool lets farmers compare the yield and financial returns from its Xbeet Enrich 300 and Xbeet Enrich 400 seed treatments over other formulations. Germains is owned by AB Agri, which is itself part of the Associated British Foods family – the same company that owns British Sugar. The company offers a variety of seed treatments – as do plant breeders now supplying growers direct.
Seed options
“With more seed options now available in the UK, making the best choice in terms of value is more complicated,” says Germains scientist Jordan Long. “While yield is key, seed rate and sugar beet prices also matter.”
The calculator helps growers and agronomists estimate potential yields and returns using their own data and results from Germains trials conducted under UK conditions by ORETO-accredited organisations.
Mr Long says: “Our sugar beet seed calculator is designed to empower farmers to make data driven decisions about their crop management and seed choices, ultimately leading to increased profitability and sustainability.”
Xbeet Enrich 400 is the latest treatment from Germains. Alongside a primer, nutrients and biostimulants, it contains microbes to enhance germination, emergence and early growth – especially in challenging conditions.
Informed decision
Suffolk sugar beet grower Will Hitchcock is among those who have used the calculator. “Just being able to see in black and white, the advantage of Xbeet enrich 300 and 400 is exactly what a grower needs to make an informed decision.
“In this current climate you need those marginal gains to ensure your competitive advantage. There is currently a huge amount of uncertainty about the price of beet but, as a grower, there is a lot we can do to de-risk the crop.”
Based at Ringshall, Hitchcock Farms is a family-run business that drills over 800ha of sugar beet and lifting 1200ha of the crop each year. The home farm itself grows 200ha of beet on a one-in-four-year rotation.
“Apart from haulage, we’ve the machinery dedicated to beet production and that helps us effectively manage such a large acreage with timeliness,” says Mr Hitchcock. “It’s everything, especially in a tricky season like this one.”
“We’ve gone against the grain with some of the kit. One of the drills, the Kuhn Kosma, is the only one in the country specialising in sugar beet, and we’ve built our own chaser to get crops off the fields in poor conditions.”
Consistency
The advantage of the Kosma lies in its weight, says Mr Hitchcock. “Being heavier it can maintain coulter pressure, which improves the consistency of drilling depth on heavier land, or after cover crops where seedbeds aren’t ideal. “
Moisture loss led to some two-stage germination on heavier land this spring. But rain fell when it was needed and these crops have now caught up and are now looking good. On the kinder land, there was good plant stand from the word go. Most of Mr Hitchcock’s seed was treated with Xbeet Enrich 300 but he dropped back to the Enrich 200 option on lighter land lacking potential. Overall, though, he is optimistic about the future for beet.
“I’m fairly confident about this year’s crop,” he says. “We’re irrigating where we can – including some of the heavier land at the home farm – thanks to a legacy of irrigation equipment from grass leys for dairy cows in the 70s and 80s.”
New technology
“With virus yellows and increasing adverse weather, the yield growth we’ve seen in recent years could well slow. But that just makes it even more important to explore the potential of new technologies and techniques. We’re currently experimenting with cover crops on heavier land with an eye on SFI and Countryside Stewardship schemes. Picking up those extra bits of funding where we can just softens the blows as and when they come.
“I was amazed by the yield benefit of the Enrich 400. It’s an example of the innovations that could help us continue to drive yield growth, at least for the time being. In the long term, I’d relish yield mapping. Currently the dirt tare factor means nobody has developed the software – but it would add a level of precision to our decision-making.”