03/14/08 A change in Idaho sugarbeet fields

There will be a major change in the Idaho sugarbeet fields this year. GRANT "Everybody is planning on planting Roundup Ready beets." Rupert grower Duane Grant says the only thing that would keep Amalgamated Sugar Company growers from going 100 percent Roundup Ready is seed availability. Several seed varieties are needed for southern Idaho. GRANT "Seed that is planted from Twin Falls west has to be resistant to curly top virus. As you move east the incidents of curly top virus decreases. It has to do with the vector which is a beet hopper and the beet hopper simply doesn't survive in the eastern part of our growing region." Grant says Roundup Ready beets will only need one or two herbicide applications to insure total weed control. GRANT "Previously we would apply herbicides four to five times, sometimes even more. And even with all of those applications the herbicide that we had available to us simply weren't effective at completely controlling the weeds." With three to four fewer applications over 180 thousand acres of land there's far less chemical use, less fuel consumed and in the end growers get sugarbeets that are as good or better than conventionally grown beets. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott