Live Projects

Current: Varietal susceptibility to virus yellows

Info to follow - Goliath, Verde and Titan trials

Current: Variety Trials Programme

The Recommended List Trials Programme involves approx.17 sites, of which up to 13 are taken for yield assessments.

Current: Identifying low carbon nitrogen fertilisers that are compatible with the demands of sugar beet production

Reducing the amount of fertiliser used on the sugar beet crop is the first stage of reducing emissions. 

Current: Optimizing nitrogen application to sugar beet using placement and banding of fertiliser

Nitrogen fertiliser is the one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on farm from the sugar beet crop.

Current: IPM tools to combat virus yellows

The Virus Yellows Complex is the greatest threat to sustainable sugar beet production in North-West Europe. Since the removal of Neonicotinoids from use in 2018, the crop has been at an increased risk of becoming infected, which manifested in a major epidemic in 2020, where over £50m of crop was lost.

Current: Annual broad-leaved weed control in sugar beet

The project will look at economic and feasible options for annual broad-leaved weed (ABLW) control in sugar beet in the absence of triflusulfuron-methyl (TSM) on fen and sandy soil types. TSM has not been renewed in Europe and use is currently being sought under Article 4.7 which at best would provide an extra 5 years of use.

Current: BCN Screening

Info to follow

Current: Beet Moth: strategies to monitor and control

The beet moth (Scrobipalpa ocellatella) is not usually regarded as a serious pest in the UK or NW Europe. However, in 2022, favoured by the hot dry summer, the beet moth has developed widely across East Anglia (Stevens et al, 2023). 

Current: Exploring sustainable soil management approaches in sugar beet production

Info to follow

Current: Review of models and data for use in a Virus yellows Decision Support System

Virus yellows (VY) is the most important insect-related issue in UK sugar beet production. VY is a complex of aphid vectored viruses, which includes Beet mild yellowing virus (BMYV), Beet yellows virus (BYV), and Beet chlorosis virus (BChV).

Current: BetaSoils

A multi-faceted project to investigate how to optimise practices to maximise soil health.

Complete: Managing insecticide resistance

This is a new project linked to previous work with Rothamsted and a number of partners relating to insecticide resistance. Monitoring for resistance or reduced sensitivity to different insecticides will be done using bioassays on live insects to ensure all possible forms of resistance are found. 

BBRO is a not for profit company

We are set up jointly by British Sugar plc and NFU Sugar