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2024 Official Coded Variety Performance Trial Data

The American Crystal 2024 Official Variety Trial (OVT) data for varieties approved for crop year 2025 has been published and is available on crystalsugar.com at:

https://www.crystalsugar.com/agronomy/crystal-beet-seed/official-coded-trials/

Many growers have already purchased seed for the 2025 sugarbeet crop.  Now is a good time to review the OVT data and be sure that the varieties you’ve selected offer the appropriate characteristics of disease tolerance, yield, and sugar quality for placement in each unique field on your farm.

OVT trial data can be downloaded in a PDF document or an Excel file.  Both have the same data sorted in 8 different ways.  Color coded disease tolerance ratings can help you distinguish between the different degrees of tolerance.

OVT variety data is pre-sorted in the 2024 Variety Selector in the following ways (each on a separate page):

• Seed Company
• Rev/Ton
• Rev/Acre
• Aphanomyces Tolerance Rating
• Rhizoctonia Tolerance Rating
• Fusarium Tolerance Rating
• Cercospora Tolerance Rating
• Emergence Percent

Downloading the Excel version will allow you to create your own sorts to examine the data as well. 

Considerations on Variety Placement

• Past variety performance on your farm.
• Known disease presence in fields to be planted in 2025.
  • Links to general township disease presence observations & management recs:
    • Aphanomyces
    • Rhizoctonia
    • Fusarium
• Historical production characteristics by field.
  • Below average sugar and/or above average tons:
    • Consider a higher sugar variety to optimize recoverable sugar/acre.
  • Above average sugar and/or below average tons:
    • Consider a higher yielding variety to optimize recoverable sugar/acre.
  • Pre-piling from designated fields, headlands, and splits:
    • Use high sugar varieties to help maximize your Pre-pile Premium
  • Field distance from piling site/factory:
    • If long distance, consider higher sugar, moderate tonnage varieties to lower transportation costs.

CR+ Variety Placement Considerations

• Fields/areas not planned for Pre-pile deliveries:
  • Take full advantage of higher Cercospora tolerance further into the growing season.
• Fields bordering previous year’s beet fields.
• Fields protected from wind (higher humidity), river fields, shelter belts.
• Fields farther away that may be difficult to reach for timely fungicide applications.

Production Considerations in 2025

We look forward with optimism to next year’s crop potential and general production challenges to prepare for.  Each topic heading is a link to its subject material on the Crystal website.

• As always, check with your pesticide supplier to make sure you have access to pesticides needed for your 2025 sugarbeet crop production.

Stand Establishment

• Cover crops should also be used to protect seedling sugarbeets and limit erosion from strong spring wind events.

Weed Control

• All areas of the Red River Valley need to have a plan to control glyphosate resistant weeds. Particularly waterhemp, kochia, and common ragweed.
  • For waterhemp, this plan should incorporate a layered approach of soil applied herbicides, that includes a PPI/PRE herbicide application along with 2 POST Lay-by herbicide applications.
  • Kochia requires the use of PPI/PRE applied ethofumesate. Possible burn-down application of paraquat for emerged kochia prior to sugarbeet emergence. For Post applications, scout and time Spin Aid treatments on small “puff ball”, dime-sized kochia. 
  • Treat common ragweed when it’s small, <2”, with Stinger/Stinger HL and repeat with subsequent application.

Sugarbeet Root Maggot (SBRM) - Continued High Pressure

• In areas with SBRM pressure plan accordingly.
• The best treatment for SBRM control is using:
  • Counter insecticide At-Plant followed by POST insecticide applications.
  • Multiple POST insecticide applications may be needed for optimal control to reduce the egg-laying fly populations.
    • Thimet granular POST offers great SBRM control.
    • Prepare to use a state registered Chlorpyrifos product, Mustang Maxx, or Asana as POST liquid insecticides.

Cercospora Leafspot (CLS)

• The proper timing of initial & subsequent CLS fungicide applications helped to proactively keep Cercospora in-check, maintain healthy leaves, and optimize variety performance.
• In 2024, CLS could be found in fields but was generally at low levels and did not reach the level of severity witnessed in 2020 & 2021.
  • However, a higher prevalence of CLS infection was observed in fields that had later initial fungicide applications and/or extensively delayed subsequent applications compared to those fields with earlier initial and properly timed subsequent applications.
• A timely initial fungicide application is needed to delay the on-set of Cercospora infections thereby reducing end-of-season severity levels.
  • Target initial fungicide applications to be done by July 7^th.
• Tank-mix and rotate fungicide modes of action for resistance management and maintain proper fungicide application intervals.
• Planting varieties with good CLS ratings can make a big difference in infection levels.  However, this may not equate to fewer fungicide applications.
• Note: The Official Variety Trials use the ACSC recommended CLS fungicide program.
  • In the OVT data, cross reference variety performance against their Cercospora tolerance ratings
• CR+ varieties still require timely initial and subsequent fungicide applications to limit the propagation of CLS spores that may be resistant to the high tolerance trait and to optimize varietal performance.
  Doing so maintains the CR+ trait's effectiveness against CLS into the future.

2025 Sugarbeet Winter Meeting Schedule

• Sugarbeet Research and Reporting Session
  • January 14^th @ Hilton Garden Inn, Fargo, ND
• Sugarbeet Grower Seminars
  • Grand Forks – February 6^th @ Alerus Center in Grand Forks
  • Fargo - February 11^th @ Hilton Garden Inn in Fargo
  • Grafton – February 13^th @ Grafton Armory
• International Sugarbeet Institute – March 19^th & 20^th @ the Fargodome in Fargo, ND