Each entry was replicated eight times using a randomized complete block experimental design. Each plot was four rows wide and 23 ft long with 4-ft alleys separating plots. Approximately 12 viable seeds per foot of row were planted in each plot row. The seed was planted on April 16 with cone-seeders mounted on a John Deere model 71 flexi-planter equipped with disc openers. On April 17, trials were corrugated, and Counter 15G was applied in a band over the row at 6 oz/1000 ft of row. The sugar beet trials were furrow-irrigated to furnish moisture for uniform seedling emergence. The sugar beets were hand-thinned May 16-18; spacing between plants was approximately 7 in. On May 28, 30 lb N/acre broadcast urea was applied by hand following an unusally rainy May with 4.5 in of rain. The crop was sidedressed with 189 lb N/acre as urea on June 3. The crop was severely hurt by hail on July 4.

Treflan at 1 pt/acre was applied for weed control June 10 and incorporated with sinner weeders. Beets were mechanically cultivated for the last time on June 30, and were recoruggated a final time on July 30. A hailstorm defoliated the sugarbeets and flooded the field temporarily on the evening of July 4. Powdery mildew was controlled with 60 lb/acre of sulfur dust on July 31 and August 18, and with Bayleton at 1 lb/acre on August 18, all applied by airplane.

Sugar beets from the commercial cultivars were harvested October 27-28, and those from the experimental trial were harvested October 28-29. The foliage was removed by a flail beater, and the crowns were clipped with rotating scalping knives. Beets from the two center rows of each four-row plot were dug with a single-row, wheel-type lifter harvester, and all roots in each 23 ft of row were weighed and corrected by 5 percent tare to calculate root yields. A sample of eight beets was taken from each of the harvested rows and analyzed by Amalgamated Sugar Company for percentage of sucrose (Sug), pulp nitrate nitrogen, and conductivity (Cond). The percent extraction was calculated using the formula:

Ext = 250 + ((1255.2*Cond) - (15000*Sug) - 6185)/Sug(98.66-7.845*Cond).

Varietial differences were calculated using ANOVA and protected least significant differences at the 5 percent level, LSD (0.05). Performance was compared with the established commercial varieties ACH 211, Beta 8422, HM Owyhee, and HM PM21.

Results

Cultivar performance was analyzed statistically and ranked by recoverable sugar within each company's entries (Tables 1 and 2). It was not possible to evaluate the yield losses from severe hail on July 4. Yields of estimated recoverable sugar from commercial cultivars ranged from a high of 11,886 lb/acre of sugar to a low of 8838 lb/acre of sugar, with a variety mean of 10,571 lb/acre of sugar. Among the top yielding commercial cultivars were HM Owyhee, HM Canyon, HM Dillon, Beta 8450, and Beta 8118 (Table 1).

Root tonnage among the experimental lines ranged up to 45.4 ton/acre. The experimental lines sucrose percentage averaged 17.27 compared to 17.43 for the commercial cultivars. Yield of recoverable sugar from the experimental lines ranged from 12,725 lb/acre of sugar to a low of 9,470 lb/acre of sugar, with an entry mean of 11,285 lb/acre of sugar. Among the top yielding lines were the Betaseed 5KG 6910, Holly HH97HX724 and HH98HX802 (Table 2).

Table 1. Root yields, sugar yields, and root quality from sugar beet lines entered as commercial lines at the Malheur Experiment Station, Oregon State University, Ontario, OR, 1998.

Table 2. Root yields, sugar yields, and root quality from sugar beet lines entered as experimental lines at the Malheur Experiment Station, Oregon State University, Ontario, OR, 1998.

Malheur Agricultural Experiment Station

Last updated 12-09-1999.