BBRO BeetCast

With a special day approaching many growers will be wondering what they might find under the tree. Well BBRO's wish list, or to be more accurate Alistair's wish list does not entail large shiny vehicles, he's looking for something slightly smaller and with the help of Roger Barker from Living Optics he puts a small package with big potential to the test.

Autumn is a time for reflection but also for change, and in sugar beet things are certainly changing with the introduction of a new way to secure your seed. Nick Morris (British Sugar) and Arthur Marshall (NFU Sugar) explain the changes and the advantages these could bring to growers.

Chairman of the Sugar Beet RL Board Mr Mike May joins us this month to explain some of the processes of the RL variety selection and how these data can be used by growers.

With much interest in cover crops this autumn we speak to both Dr Georgina Barratt and Dr Alistair Wright about their thoughts and what to expect from the BBRO research currently taking place.

We also meet with industry stalwart, Tricia Cullimore, who has just retired from NIAB following 52 years of trials and the sugar beet Recommended List.

If your beet leaves have become 'holey' it could be the Silver Y moth at play, so please watch your crop carefully throughout July for this pest and for any signs of foliar disease such as Cercospora Leaf Spot.

'Tis the season of events! The BBRO team have been out and about meeting growers and discussing some of the in-field issues and hopes for this season's crop.

With so many tillage choices, how do you ensure you have made the right choice for your soil, the conditions and your crop? BBRO are investigating these implications at Holkham Farming with interesting results.

With a high Virus Yellows forecast and aphids expected around the 10th April we look at mitigation strategies to help growers protect the crop in 2024.

We join Simon Bowen and Stephen Aldis at a Drill Operators training day, to hear the latest info on improving crop population, establishment and ultimately yield through good preparation and drilling.

We also meet with 5 drill manufacturers; Grimme, Kverneland, Kuhn, Monosem and Vaderstad.

As many experienced harvester drivers will tell you there is a lot more to harvesting a good beet crop than you'd think. We spend some time in the cab with a new driver and carry out a harvester test to really put him through his paces - will he pass muster?!