Breeding goals in sugarbeet
Breeding goals in sugarbeet
The present-day sugarbeet varieties are the outcome of more than 140 years of breeding effort aimed at attaining high yields and a secure income for farmers.
KWS supports a variety of breeding activities at the international level. In Germany alone the sugarbeet breeding programme covers an area of more than 10,000 m² under glass houses, 24,000 isolation plots covering 80 ha and more than 30,000 inbred lines a year. Sugarbeet has been the focus of intense hybrid breeding since the sixties.
Key breeding goals are:
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Yield
- Resistance
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Quality
Research at the molecular level are expected to yield new forms of resistance. Given the high levels of photosynthesis and biomass production in sugarbeet, research on the plant’s ‘biological system’ will open new horizons. The high yield potential of sugarbeet, its highly developed production system of cultivation and the efficient processing technology employed lend themselves into being channelled towards economically producing materials applicable in the non-food area.
