Sugar beet yields?
- Thread starter Zan
- Start date
A friend of mine has achieved 100t/ha on his first lift. Good but not exceptional soil. Ploughed. Here sugars in line with Bury factory average and low dirt tares = a pleasing return and above average year............... So far. Long way until March.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Lifted the worst field last week. 70 t/ha. Some of it had blown in the spring and partly smothered with cranesbill due to resulting disruption of herbicide. Drilled in early April and sat in dust for a month, so am pleasantly surprised. Amino N at 28, best sugar at 18%. A bit dirty through the sticky patches but not bad on the whole. The stuff that hadn’t blown had huge tops as does the remaining crop to be harvested. Not sure why this is as N wasn’t excessive. Hopefully it will die down a bit to make topping easier. Pasteur.
It was ploughed but I would be interested to know any mintill results as hoping to try it next year to avoid the wind erosion and moisture loss.
It was ploughed but I would be interested to know any mintill results as hoping to try it next year to avoid the wind erosion and moisture loss.
- Location
- Cambs Essex
82 ton ha first lift. looks good for the rest of the crop
ollie989898
Member
Apparently the one bit of fodder beet I know of did very well, would have been spectacular had the weather not been so dry that germination was sporadic to say the least! Even the blackgrass got killed by the centurion max. Result!
Honest john
Member
- Location
- Fenland
1st lift 79 tph not ploughed.
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds
First bit was full of bolters and only did 52t, everything else has nudged over 80t and is all drilled and showing in the row now.
ollie989898
Member
I tell you, made me nervous seeing all that dry weather, the amount of pre-em we used was also Defcon 2 to put it mildly, was rather worried it wasn't going to work!
- Location
- the brecks norfolk
We haven't lifted any yet, they look a hell of a good crop with tops up to my waist and there seems to be some big roots but we did up the seed rate on half of our area on the advice of the fields man dispite us drilling into moisture. I'm a bit worried we'll end up with a lot of smallish beet.
I think this year has suited beet well as long as they went into moisture they've done well especially on the light land some years they can spend weeks flat on the ground all crispy buy this year they haven't they've just kept on growing. Trouble is a bumper harvest this year doesn't bode well for a better price next year.
I think this year has suited beet well as long as they went into moisture they've done well especially on the light land some years they can spend weeks flat on the ground all crispy buy this year they haven't they've just kept on growing. Trouble is a bumper harvest this year doesn't bode well for a better price next year.
Small even beet = big yields
- Location
- the brecks norfolk
I hope so.
We normally drill 6.5 inch spacing but while we were drilling, the fields man said don't be afraid to up the seed if it stays dry.
The next block we drilled,we had to harrow rather than drill on the press so father said as we've got plenty of seed we'd open the drill up a "notch" which is our headland setting of 5 inch.
Small regular consistent beet do make for better topping and harvesting. There's nothing worse than seeing monster gappy beet smashed to bits with the flail then knocked out of the row with the scalpel.
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I thought the same but a few growers around here have shifted up to 1.33 units and although the beet are smaller they are greater in number and a much more even row. Think i will ramp it up next year. First lift 90T here on boulder clay
Hindsight
Member
- Location
- Lincolnshire
If you look back in the Sugar Beet Review technical journal there were a few articles on seed rate a few years ago. Cannot remember when but about six years or so.
The background to the articles was to gently nudge growers to use higher seed rates when some (many?) farmers would say 'but British Sugar would say that as they own Germains and profit from higher seed use' So with that background stated the articles reviewed the trial evidence that looked at adjusted yield versus plant population and seed rate in units/ha.
The gist if I recall was that the old trial work stating 70,000 plants per hectare as the lower level before yield loss was re-confirmed but that higher populations gave more stability to yield and possibly on some occasion higher yields - due to greater light interception but also tangential benefits such as reduced harvester losses etc.
Honest john
Member
- Location
- Fenland
The weather this last two weeks must be good for Beet growth.
Must be packing on some sugar now.
Must be packing on some sugar now.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
I upped my seed rate to 1.1 units per ha on 20.5 inch rows. About 5" apart? I reckon it has lead to some getting shaded out with a good medium sized beet then a tiny one which the topper can't get down to so leads to some green ones in the heap. I reckon it has "forced" the tops as well. They are as tall as I have ever seen them. Less footballs about though, which is a good thing.
I will have better idea of how it's affected yield when I get into a field of better soil type, (that didn't blow). I'd say it's been positive just looking at the rows. More beet there, some small ones but plenty of medium sized ones. Numbers of beet rather than beet size are helping it yield.
I will have better idea of how it's affected yield when I get into a field of better soil type, (that didn't blow). I'd say it's been positive just looking at the rows. More beet there, some small ones but plenty of medium sized ones. Numbers of beet rather than beet size are helping it yield.
Honest john
Member
- Location
- Fenland
A lot of small beet can = more soil tare.
Even emergence is more important IMO.
Even emergence is more important IMO.
- Location
- the brecks norfolk
Perhaps my maths is wrong but we've been drilling 6.5 inch on 20 inch rows and I thought that equalled 1.12 units, 5 inch I thought was more like 1.3?
Dirt tare is never a problem on my land so smaller beet shouldn't be a problem. I just hope they're not to small and we have to close gates up on the harvester because this will mean more stones in the heap.
Has niab tag done any trials on beet seed rates? They done a yield vs N trial this year but I can't find anything about seed rate.