Maximise sugar beet yields by checking harvester set-up

3 October 2023

With the 2023/24 harvest in full swing, British Sugar says that roots that are over crowned could be costing growers over £40/ha in lost yield. They advise that growers and contractors need to check their topping standards.

Early-season harvesting is often tricky as many sugar beet crops are yet to fully reach maturity, having big canopies and inconsistent root sizes. The sweltering weather in early September added another complication, and made ground conditions challenging.

However, as the sugar beet industry enters the main campaign, British Sugar believes crop recovery can be improved.

Feedback from beet intake at the Bury St. Edmunds factory is that a high proportion of over-crowned crops has been received. The site also reported lorry loads with large amounts of green material from late-season weed flushes, although this may only be a transient issue.

“We have seen more over-crowned beet than we would like on the flat pad at Bury St. Edmunds,” says Andrew Dear, head of technical support at British Sugar. “We revised our crowning standards 10 years ago to allow for more crown on the sugar beet and to increase the amount of crop recovered; producing higher yields for growers and more beet for us to process.

“Last season, we asked for more crown removal after the frosts growers experienced in the winter; removing the frost-damaged part of the beet which we could not process and could have led to rejections if left on.

“This campaign, the crowning standards revert to normal,” advises Andrew. “The optimum is for all leaf material to be removed and the root kept fully intact. This is best illustrated by covering the crown scar on the beet with a two-pound coin.”

Trials conducted by the British Beet Research Organisation (BBRO) revealed that for every 5% of over-crowned roots, 1t/ha of yield is lost, equating to £40/ha at the current contract price. The BBRO also discovered that the more prominent scar from over-crowning can triple sugar losses in store, seriously impacting the adjusted tonnage when the grower comes to deliver the stored beet.

“We are fortunate to have highly skilled sugar beet harvester operators,” Andrew adds. “I would encourage growers to engage with their contractors to ensure they recover as much of their crop as possible, maximising their yield and returns.”

Written by Andrew Dear, head of technical support - agriculture

Andrew joined British Sugar in 1996, based in the trials team before becoming an area manager supporting growers. He moved into agriculture operations and business manager roles before becoming head of agriculture at Bury St Edmunds. Today, Andrew leads the technical support team. He is also on the British Beet Research Organisation stakeholder committee.