SUGAR BEET 2018 - Strube UK Limited · 1 SUGAR BEET 2018 +own sugar in 2018 Home gr + Choosing your sugar beet varieties for 2018 +trube varieties The new S

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SUGAR BEET2018+ Home grown sugar in 2018

+ Choosing your sugar beet varieties for 2018

+ The new Strube varieties

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Meeting increased demand

Richard PowellManaging Director Strube UK Ltd

Reliable low bolting gives you more options With very low bolting, Haydn gives you the opportunity to drill when conditions are right, to get the yield benefit from early drilling.

After three seasons of consistent commercial success, HAYDN should be the low-risk heart of your sugar beet portfolio.

www.strube-sugarbeet.co.uk

[email protected] | Strube UK Ltd, 9 Constitution Hill, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 9EF

High Adjusted Tonnes

Very low bolting

Proven commercial performance

Seed companies are gearing up to meet the increased demand that these changes will bring and are very mindful of the potential changes in the market place and the dynamics of these changes. This will probably be a good year to make early decisions about the varieties that you would like to grow, to ensure that you are able to get your first choices.

Growers continue to value the resilience of sugar beet, whatever the season. This year it looked as if we were going to get off to one of the best starts in a long time, with generally good seedbeds, warm soils and fair weather. But then, as ever, Nature decided her own course and we ran up close to drought conditions in April and early May, with much seed sitting in dry seedbeds waiting weeks for rain. Some of the best crops are those that were drilled before about March 25th into moisture which they were then able to follow down the profile. The crop has survived many tricky springs in recent years and always comes back strongly.

Sugar beet remains a profitable and competitive crop and an essential and important part of many East Anglian, East Midland and Yorkshire arable rotations.

Problems on the horizonThere are of course a number of potential problems on the horizon, not least of which is the threat to key elements of pest, disease and weed control for the crop. The loss of active ingredients, particularly neonicotinoids, could become a very major issue if EU plans to limit or prevent usage are implemented. This could force marked changes to the way we grow the crop in the UK. However, disease and pest

resistances have always played a major part in breeding strategies and these have gained in importance and urgency as the risk of further restrictions are placed on chemical usage.

We are part of a growing business with confidence and commitment for the future of sugar beet.

In this newsletter you can learn about our new varieties for 2018, hear our views on the increasing complexity of variety selection and see reports on new technical and scientific work by Strube.

Three generations of Lankfers. Roger – father, Ed – son, Charles – grandson. Pictures on 18 May 2017 of in a crop of Roger Lankfer’s Haydn at Wereham, Norfolk drilled

on 16th March 2017. Wissington Sugar factory is in the background.

This is a more confident time for the sugar beet business in the UK. After a few years below expectations, the national sugar beet crop area in 2017 is nearly back to where it should be, with a near 25% increase over last year. And British Sugar is looking to further expand this area in coming years to provide enough beet for the full processing capabilities of its four factories. This mirrors similar increases in sugar beet cultivation across Europe, as the world sugar market recovers and the most competitive sugar producers position themselves for a world beyond quotas.

As Paul Kenward, the Managing Director of British Sugar, explained in their booklet produced this Spring – “A homegrown success story”:

“British Sugar plc are one of the most efficient and sustainable producers of sugar in the world. We have created a beet sugar industry that plays a critical role in the rural economy and future of farming and beet sugar yields in the UK have increased by more than 25% in the past ten years. British growers are currently achieving higher sugar yields than most of the EU. All our farmers are quality assurance verified and, with the majority of beet grown within 37 km of a processing factory, we are competitive with fairly priced sugar from anywhere”.

Home grown sugar in 2018

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The new BBRO/BSPB Recommended List of sugar beet for 2018 drilling contains 25 varieties. Four varieties came off the 2017 List; six new varieties were added. As most growers will choose just two or three varieties for their beet area and few growers select more than four, what is the point of them all – and how do you make the selection?

As to the number, choice is always good. And it should be said at the outset that any variety on the Recommended List should be capable of doing a good job – hence its Recommendation. But there are variations in performance, provenance and price that can make a real difference to productivity in the field and the profitability of the crop.

The Recommended List is based on the results from trials over the previous three years. These will encompass as many regions and soil types – not to mention climatic variations – as is feasible within budgetary constraints. The performance of varieties over several years can be instructive, as it allows us to see a measure of consistency over a range of different seasons. Over the years, we have seen that some initially leading varieties do not live up to their promise, while others, that might have been discarded on a shorter list, go on to prove their value in the longer term.

Yield must remain a key driver, but this attribute must also have consistency and credibility. Other important criteria for choice have always been the level of bolting – both from early sowings and normal sowings, sugar content and

Choosing your sugar beet varieties for 2018

BBRO/BSPB Sugar Beet Recommended List 2018Data courtesy of BBRO/BSPB

Variety

Status (C) = Control Variety 1 R(C) R R(C) R(C) R(C) R R(C) PR1 PR1 PR1 PR2 PR2 PR2 PR2 PR3 PR3 PR1 PR3 PR1 PR3 PR1 PR2 PR2 PR3 S

CROP YIELDS MEAN

Adjusted tonnes % of control 2 113.6t/ha 100.4 100.2 100.2 100.0 100.0 100.0 99.4 106.9 105.6 104.7 104.3 104.2 104.2 103.9 103.8 103.5 103.0 102.7 102.0 101.2 100.8 100.4 100.4 100.1 98.3

Sugar yield, % of control 2 17.3t/ha 100.5 100.4 100.1 100.0 100.0 100.0 99.4 107.2 105.9 104.4 104.7 104.2 103.9 103.8 103.9 103.5 102.9 102.9 101.9 100.9 101.0 101.2 100.7 100.4 98.3

Root yield, % of control 2 96.5t/ha 101.2 101.7 99.6 100.1 99.8 100.0 99.3 109.1 107.5 102.7 106.2 103.8 102.2 102.7 105.1 103.2 101.8 103.4 101.1 98.2 102.0 105.2 102.1 102.4 98.2

Sugar Content, % 18.0% 17.8 17.7 18.0 17.9 18.0 17.9 18.0 17.7 17.7 18.2 17.7 18.0 18.2 18.1 17.7 18.0 18.1 17.8 18.1 18.4 17.8 17.3 17.7 17.6 18.0

BOLTERS per 100.000 plants/ha MEAN

X Unsuitable for sowing before mid-March X X X X X X X X X

Early sown (pre 5 March) 3 6,745/ha 6031 4070 10169 3808 9990 9093 5730 5516 15218 20086 18454 7590 11474 8572 8441 13997 3487 9209 7570 12335 2882 5471 4058 9162 23044

Normal sowing 45/ha 54 38 96 7 52 50 14 72 161 62 64 89 57 7 21 102 35 47 0 156 0 14 45 72 122

PREGAPPING ESTABLISHMENT 100%

% of control 102.2 99.5 99.5 99.0 99.0 100.0 100.3 97.4 96.3 102.2 100.5 99.7 98.3 101.1 99.0 101.7 99.0 103.3 97.5 100.7 101.1 98.6 99.9 100.7 98.0

DISEASE (1 high/9 very low leaf infection) 4

Rust 5 5 7 6 5 5 6 4 (7) (7) (7) (3) (6) (7) (6) 6 6 (7) 6 (5) 7 (4) (3) (3) 5 5

Powdery Mildew 4 (4) (2) (3) (4) (4) (4) (4) (6) (7) (4) (5) (6) (6) (5) (5) (6) (5) (6) (3) (6) (3) (4) (5) (2) (5)

AYPR tolerant Y

BCN tolerant (Breeders’ claims) Y Y Y Y Y Y

Year first listed 2011 2012 2013 2013 2014 2013 2011 2017 2017 2017 2016 2016 2016 2016 2015 2015 2017 2015 2017 2015 2017 2016 2016 2015 2013

Breeder SV STR SV STR SV SV STR KWS KWS STR KWS KWS KWS BTS KWS BTS BTS KWS STR KWS SV SYN SV SV KWS

UK Agent SV STR SV STR SV SV STR KWS KWS STR KWS KWS KWS LG KWS LG LG KWS STR KWS SV SYN SV SV KWS

Caym

an

Senad

a KWS

Hornet

Alisha K

WS

Leesh

a KWS

Springb

ok

Darnell

a KWS

Salam

anca

KWS

Pasteur

Sabati

na KWS

Flixter

Aurora

ThorLandon

BTS33

25

Stingr

ay

BTS86

0

Bloodh

ound

Haydn

Canton

a KWS

Degas

Daphna

BTS47

0

Firefly

Sandr

a KWS

establishment. More recently, the subjects of price and genetic diversity have also had a significant influence on selection.

A look at the Recommended List on this page shows that many varieties are derived from the same, or very similar, breeding programmes. It does make sense to take this into account when choosing varieties.

The need to avoid concentration of the crop in a single variety is well recognised, for the reason that should particular genetics react badly to seasonal conditions, the overall risk is spread. This can also apply to seed houses and the supply of seed.

Pick the top three – job done?It could be tempting to select the top three varieties with the highest Adjusted Tonnes and assume that this makes up the optimum portfolio. And, in the past, we know of many growers who successfully relied on precisely this strategy. The presentation of varieties by Adjusted Tonnes in the graph shows the starting point, but there are a number of other important considerations to take into account.

Consistency of performance over the three year trial period that the new List encompasses is generally good with not so many “bouncing” results.

Even the best varieties are now generally limited to a maximum of 20% of the market as a means of managing risk for the grower and processor, so a range of options must be explored, as the most popular will “sell out” quickly.

1 Newly listed varieties (PR1/PS1) have results from three years using approx. 1 kg breeders’ seed. Thereafter commercial seed should be used in RL trials.2 Yields based on an average plant population of 106,000 plants/ha in these trials. Differences in yields of less than 3% should be treated with reserve. 3 The ratings from normal sowings are applicable for sowing after mid-March in most seasons. 4 Observations taken from inoculated trials not taken to yield. (Brackets indicate figure derived from fewer than 3 years of data).

Breeders and Agents:

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Strube UK Ltd STR SESVanderHave SV Betaseed BTS

Limagrain LGKWS UK Ltd KWS Syngenta SYN

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In recent years, growers and experts alike have attached more and more importance to good bolting resistance. The advice to drill as early as sensible to get the substantial yield premium from an early start – reckoned to be up to 10% for getting the crop in in early March – still holds true.

However earlier drilling can carry the risk of increased bolting, with the result being unsightly crops, unwanted work of removal and loss of yield.

The choice of the right variety remains key and it is important to be clear as to which varieties you can trust to select for early drilling and which will you give a more profitable yield at the end of the campaign. A couple of percentage points on theoretical yield is rarely worth the risk of a field full of bolters.

The charts of bolting from early and normal sowings show a wide variation in performance and in each I have included a line to the left of which varieties could be considered to be acceptable in both categories.

The figures used in these graphs are the actual scores seen in three years’ of trials extrapolated to a ‘per hectare’ figure.

The numbers of “Early sown” bolters are derived from the 14 trials drilled 19th February–5th March in the three years of experimentation specifically for the purpose of testing the bolting resistance of the varieties. The “Early sown” scores give an indication of possible levels of bolting if drilling very early or if we have a year with a long cold spring and a high level of vernalisation.

The “Normal sown” bolter scores are derived from the 25 BBRO yield trials drilled 14th March–22nd April in the years 2014–16. These scores are much more what you can expect to see in a “normal” year, as the drilling of the trials closely mirrors the drilling of the National crop.

Famous namesThe new variety names continue Strube’s policy of naming varieties for European artists or scientists. Following Pasteur and Haydn we have Landon and Degas.

Charles Paul Landon (1760-1826), perhaps the less well-known of the two, was a French painter and art historian who is best remembered for a 22 volume presentation of the lives of celebrated painters. Among his most celebrated works are “Daedalus and Icarus” and “The Regrets of Orpheus”, both of which are in the Art and Lace Museum in Alencon, France.

The more famous Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas (1834-1917) was a French artist famous for his paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings. He is especially identified with the subject of dance and more than half of his works depict dancers. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism, although he preferred to be called a realist.

Early sown bolters per hectare

3 year mean: 6,745

Acceptable levels for early sowing?

20,000

25,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0

DEGAS

CAYMAN

PASTEUR

DAPHINA

FLIXTERTHOR

FIREFLY

HAYDN

BTS 3325

BLOODHOUND

HORNET

BTS 470

CANTONA K

WS

SPRINGBOK

LANDON

DARNELLA KWS

SABATINA K

WS

ALISHA K

WS

SANDRA KWS

BTS 860

LEESHA KWS

SALAMANCA KWS

AURORA

STINGRAY

SENADA KWS

Normal sown bolters per hectare

3 year mean: 45

Acceptable levels of bolting from normal sowings?

180

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

FIREFLY

THOR

BTS 3325

SABATINA K

WS

PASTEUR

FLIXTER

HAYDN

BTS 860

BLOODHOUND

DEGAS

DARNELLA KWS

SPRINGBOK

SALAMANCA KWS

DAPHINA

LEESHA KWS

SENADA KWS

STINGRAY

AURORA

SENADA KWS

HORNET

CANTONA K

WS

LANDON

ALISHA K

WS

CAYMAN

BTS 470

LandonHigh performance genetic diversity

3 Consistent very high Adjusted Tonnes

3 Top three Sugar Content

3 Top three establishment

LANDON is now National Listed and a commercial variety in the UK, France and Sweden. With the third highest relative Adjusted Tonnes on the 2018 Recommended List, LANDON has shown exemplary consistency of performance in three years of trials, with a sugar yield dependably 4–5% above the mean of controls.

Consistent high yields are combined with one of the highest sugar contents available and excellent establishment. LANDON also offers the important genetic diversity, as already discussed above, in a sound all-round package.

LANDON is not suitable for, and should not be used for, early sowings. However, normal sown bolting figures show that it is eminently suitable for drilling in appropriate conditions after mid-March.

DegasThe lowest bolting from normal sowings

3 High Sugar Yield and Adjusted Tonnes 3 Low bolting from early sowings 3 The lowest bolting from normal sowings

DEGAS is now National Listed and a commercial variety in the UK, France and Denmark. It offers a useful advance in yields from many currently popular varieties. DEGAS has good bolting resistance for both early and normal sowings; with no bolters whatsoever recorded from normal sowing in the last three years of trials.

Large tops and vigorous growth ensure that DEGAS develops a large canopy quickly to ensure maximum intervention of sunlight and suppression of weeds.

The new Strube varieties

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Getting an early start

Source: BBRO/BSPB Recommended List 2018

Until a few years ago, the choice of variety and seed did not used to be particularly price sensitive. But now, when all input costs and margins need to be scrutinised, this is clearly no longer the case.

There are some very considerable differences in the prices to be paid for a unit of sugar beet seed and, if translated to a ‘per hectare cost’ (at 1.2 units per hectare), these differences multiply up to a significant sum. Keeping seed rate up is important: always drill enough to ensure a good established population.

Last year, when there were 5 Price Groups, we made it our policy to offer high quality, high performance seed of our Strube varieties in only the two lowest price groups. And this year again, even with the introduction of our new varieties, we believe that it is very important to offer our high performance seed at what we consider to be reassuringly good value. You can give us your views on seed price on the attached survey card.

We, as sugar beet breeders, receive about 60% of the cost of the boxed, treated pelleted seed that you have delivered on farm. The remainder of the cost is made up by the priming, pelleting, fungicides and insecticide seed treatments, packaging, delivery and finance.

The value derived by the breeder, as well as paying for the breeding and seed production of the variety that you are actually going to plant, also goes towards developing the new varieties of the next ten or more years.

Sugar beet seed remains one of the most advanced and complex technology packages that can be found on farms today.

The issue of price

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Celebrating longevityIn an age when some new sugar beet varieties come and go with remarkable and alarming rapidity, it can be disconcerting for some growers to see such continual change in their fields. Perhaps that’s one small reason why our established varieties have such a strong following.

HAYDN has once again captured nearly 20% of the 2017 UK market, the maximum allowed for a single variety. Since this is the fourth year in a row that the variety has achieved this remarkable feat, its popularity puts it up with some of the all-time great varieties. Once again, it is consistency of performance, very low bolting and high sugar yields that have kept growers coming back for more.

haydn

PASTEUR, added to the UK Recommended List in 2011, has been producing profitable crops for six years, and still makes up close to 10% of the 2017 UK sugar beet crop. Consistent commercial performance, vigorous growth, large tops and very low bolting have led to its continuing popularity and we continue to hear good results from satisfied growers.

pasteur

Quality seed productionBoth HAYDN and PASTEUR demonstrate the benefits of the high-quality seed production that takes top-quality genetics from small scale trial results to high volume production. Strube invests continually in the research and development essential to improving seed quality. The result is greater long-term certainty for growers.

THOR, our BCN tolerant variety first Recommended in 2012, continues to offer cost-effective tolerance to nematodes and the ability to be drilled as early as conditions sensibly allow.

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Main: Germination tests, Left: Test plants, Middle: Seeds, Right: Seed check to assess quality of batches

David Henson of Henson & Sons. Taken 23 May 2017 in his field of Haydn drilled at Upwell Road, March on April 1 2017.

Early disease identification wins technology award More efficient treatment of diseases in sugar beet can be aided by early identification of diseases. Dr Sandra Fischer of Strube has been working on a research project to develop a novel plant scanner which can identify emerging diseases before they are visible to the human eye.

The scanner uses a technique known as hyper-spectral measurement to spot changes in plant metabolism between a healthy specimen and one which is an early stage of disease. When a pathogen infects a plant it causes a defensive reaction which changes the biochemistry inside the leaf. These changes are subtle and complex, so an algorithm has been developed which filters and classifies all the relevant characteristics.

Despite the complexity of the mathematics and the novel approach, the resultant scanner is very easy to use, controlled by an app on a smart phone, and able to determine within seconds whether a plant is sick or healthy.

Early identification of the diseases of sugar beet will enable a more sophisticated approach to disease management.

The team has been awarded a Hugo Junkers prize for technical innovation for their work on this project.

Developing more resilient beetThe requirements for modern sugar beet varieties continue to increase. Strube is conducting considerable research on the construction of multiple tolerances and resistances against such problems as Rhizomania, Rhizoctonia, Cercospora and Nematodes. Breeders have to contend with a continually expanding range of targets, to deliver a beet capable of “sustainable sugar beet production” in the future.

Specifically cultivated winter beets could potentially have a much higher yield potential and could offer sugar factories a better workload and dynamics of supply. And, with longer factory campaigns, the importance of storage stability would increase. Breeders are already making useful progress in their understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of the different storage losses that affect varieties.

With the development of more resilient varieties - that are resistant to dry and hot conditions, the economical meaningful cultivation of sugar beet could be extended beyond the usual sugar beet cultivation areas. Crops are increasingly being faced with extreme and strongly fluctuating weather conditions. Climate change will require more stress tolerant and adaptive varieties that can not only put up with periods of high temperatures, heavy rains and droughts, but also thrive and flourish in such conditions.

In very much the same way that Formula 1 and motor racing has benefited the day-to-day cars that we drive in the street, so breeding and researching the varieties of the future brings us benefits today.

140 years of family continuityIn 2017, Strube celebrates 140 years as a seed company, having remained as a family business since it was founded by Friedrich Strube. As a farmer with an interest in crop improvement he set up a new enterprise in 1877 at Schlanstedt in Upper Saxony, which was then the German centre of plant breeding. For 20 years, he built a reputation for innovation among fellow researchers.

Hermann Strube took over the Company from his father in 1878 at the age of 19 and developed international markets, backed by modern plant breeding facilities and ambitious research. His wife Elizabeth took over when Hermann died in 1919 and successfully saw the company through a difficult time.

Johann-Friedrich Strube succeeded his mother and rebuilt the Company in West Germany after it had been seized by eastern occupation forces. He was followed by his son Hermann-Georg who increased international activity with joint ventures in research and marketing. He was also responsible for initiating the major investments that Strube continues to make in research and technology in seed quality.

Sina Isabel Strube, the daughter of Hermann-Georg, joined the Management Board of the Company in 2007. She developed a more effective distribution organisation for Strube, widening the range of activities by introducing

sunflower breeding in 2011 and strengthening overseas activities. In 2013, Sina Strube

assumed overall management of the Group with her husband, Dr Christian Putensen-Strube, and Dr Christoph Hauser.

Today, Strube supports and markets 180 varieties in 35 countries, including sugar beet, wheat, sunflowers, peas and sweet corn. It remains very much a family business, rooted in farming. The Company owns and farms some 2000 hectares of land in Upper and Lower Saxony, Germany, giving the Company a unique perspective as a plant breeder and seed producer.

Strube – investing in the future of sugar beet

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Dr Sandra Fischer with award for a novel plant scanner.

Main: Management team (Left – right) Dr Christian Putensen-Strube, Sina Isabel Strube, Dr Christoph Hauser. Inset: Founder Friedrich Strube

Drought stress – potentially an increasing problem.

The new technique can identify disease in apparently healthy leaves.

Winter beet – a potential opportunity.

Mr John Grimsey, Raydon Hall Farms, Orford. Woodbridge, Suffolk photographed on

19 July 2016 with root of Haydn beet drilled 28 February 2016. When harvested in October

the crop yielded 100t/ha.

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Beet for all seasonsStrube’s range of excellent sugar beet varieties for 2018 will all deliver you high yields, good sugar contents and excellent establishment and have been developed to give you vigorous and profitable crops. See our website or call for more information.

Strube UK Ltd, 9 Constitution Hill, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 9EF

Contact Richard Powell | [email protected] | 07449 82 56 28

www.strube-sugarbeet.co.uk

ALL THE RIGHT CHOICES

Haydn

Pasteur

Very low bolting and consistently good yields

Low bolting and consistent performance

From early March

From early/mid March

DegasNEW

LandonNEW

High yielding, low bolting beet

Very high sugar yields from later sowings

From early/mid March

From late March