1. Chapter 37
Sugar Beet

2. Sugar Beet

3. Learning Outcomes Family By Products Soils and Climate
Place in rotation
Varieties.
Seed Bed Preparation
Sowing
Fertiliser
Pest, Disease and Weed Control.
Harvesting
Yield.
Wilting of Beet Tops

4. Sugar Beet Sugar beet belongs to the Chenopodiaceae family.
It is a biennial plant with a 15–20% sucrose content at harvest.
It has a number of by-products which are important in agriculture.

5. By-products of Sugar Beet
Sugar is extracted from the sugar beet plant and sold to consumers or used as a food additive.
Beet tops: Tops are cut from the plant during harvest and can be used to feed cattle and sheep.

6. By- products continued
Beet pulp: Dried and shredded remains of the root which can be used as animal feed.
Molasses: A black syrup left over from sugar production which is used as an additive in animal feeds and is also used as an additive in silage production.

7. Cultivation of Sugar Beet
Climate
Sugar beet is not frost resistant and best suited to a temperate climate.
Sunshine is also needed for sucrose production.
Sugar beet was traditionally grown in south-east Ireland.
Soil suitability
Deep, well drained soils are needed for sugar beet production.
Compacted soils lead to forked roots.
Sugar beet also needs a pH of 6.5–7.0.

8. Cultivation of Sugar Beet
Preparation of seedbed
Land should be ploughed and rotovated in spring for production of a fine seedbed.
Time, rate and method of sowing
Sow in spring to avoid frost damage. This also allows for a long growing season.
Seed is sown at the rate of /ha with a precision seeder.

9. Fertilisers Sugar beet fertilisers contain Boron (B) and Sodium (Na).
A lack of boron causes heart rot/crown rot in sugar beet.
Sodium is needed as sugar beet is descended from sea beet, a salt-loving plant.

10. Weed Control and Rotation
Weeds in the crop can be controlled by spraying a herbicide twice before full leaf cover.
Rotation
Beet should not be grown more than one year in three in a cereal-grassland rotation.
Rotation can be used to control the beet cyst nematode, the main pest of sugar beet.

11. Diseases, Pests and Weed Control
Rhizomania
Caused by Beet Necrotic Yellow Vein Virus (BNYVV)
Stunts root production
Increases root hair production
Prevents N uptake
Reduces sugar yield by 80%
Sow resistant seed varieties to slow spread of the virus
Virus yellows
Transmitted by aphids
Causes chlorosis
Spray aphicides in spring and summer to reduce populations and control the spread of the viral disease

12. Beet cyst nematode Main pest of sugar beet
This worm causes stunted growth
Foliage turns yellow in colour
Plant wilts even with high moisture
Can be controlled using a nematicide

13. Harvest, Yield and Storage
40 t/ha roots
25 t/ha tops
Beet tops are left in the field and must be wilted before feeding to cattle as they contain oxalic acid which causes scour. Wilting reduces the acid concentration.
Sugar beet is harvested between September and December using a sugar beet harvester.
Tops are removed and left in the field, roots are transferred to a trailer.
Roots are stored in clamps, covered in straw to prevent frost damage.

14. Harvesting

15. Storage