Malheur Experiment Station Information for Sustainable Agriculture

TRANSGENIC SUGAR BEET VARIETY TESTING RESULTS

Corey V. Ransom, Joey K. Ishida, and Charles A. Rice

Malheur Experiment Station

Oregon State University

Ontario, OR, 2001

Introduction

Transgenic sugar beet varieties were compared to standard commercial sugar beet varieties for root yield, sugar content, and extractable sugar. The transgenic sugar beet varieties that were tested have genes that confer resistance to the non-selective herbicides Liberty and Roundup.

Four commercial varieties and seven transgenic varieties were evaluated for yield and sugar content in a trial conducted at the Malheur Experiment Station, Ontario, Oregon. The commercial varieties were American Crystal 'ACH Mustang', Betaseed '8757', and Hilleshog Mono-Hy 'PM 21' and 'Owyhee'. The only Liberty-resistant variety was Betaseed '8757 Liberty Link' (LL). The Roundup resistant-varieties were Hilleshog Mono-Hy 'HM 108 Roundup Ready' (RR), 'HM Oasis RR', 'HM 125 Rz RR', Betaseed '8757 RR', '7CG9236 RR', and American Crystal '9931 RR'.

Varieties were planted in four-row plots 23 ft long with 4-ft alleys between plots. Rows were 22 inches wide. Each strip of 4-row plots was separated from adjacent plots by an unplanted row. The unplanted row served as a buffer to reduce the possibility of injuring nonresistant beets while applying Roundup and Liberty herbicides to adjacent plots of resistant sugar beet varieties. Each entry was replicated eight times in a randomized complete block experimental design. Sugar beet varieties were planted on April 12 using a cone-seeder mounted on a John Deere model 71 Flexi-planter. After planting, the trial was corrugated and Counter 20 CR was applied in a 7-inch band over the row at 6 oz/1,000 ft of row.

On May 14, sugar beet stands were thinned to one plant for every 7 inches of row. The beets were sidedressed with 250 lb/acre of N as urea on May 23. Because initial herbicide treatments were not made prior to thinning, and one of the herbicide-resistant varieties was reported to have a high percentage of nonresistant plants, herbicides were not sprayed on any of the varieties to prevent reducing the sugarbeet stand. Weeds were controlled throughout the season by hand weeding.

On May 24, Temik 15G (10 lb/acre) was applied for sugar beet root maggot control. For powdery mildew control, Super Six liquid sulfur (1 gal/acre) was applied on June 23, sulfur dust (60 lb/acre) was applied July 1 and July 14, and Laredo fungicide combined with liquid sulfur was applied on July 27 and August 25. All fungicide treatments were applied by air.

Sugar beets were harvested on October 4. The foliage was removed with a flail beater and the crowns were clipped with rotating scalping knives. Roots were harvested from the center two rows of each plot using a two-row, wheel-type lifter-harvester. The total sugar beet weight from each plot was used to calculate root yield. Root yields were adjusted for a 5 percent tare. Two samples of eight beets each were taken from each plot for quality analysis. The samples were coded and sent to Hilleshog Mono-Hy Research Station in Nyssa, Oregon, to determine beet pulp sugar content and purity. The percent sugar extraction and recoverable sugar were estimated using empirical equations.

Data were analyzed using ANOVA, and variety means were separated using a protected least significant difference at the 5 percent level, LSD (0.05).

Some stand loss occurred as a result of sugar beet root maggot feeding. Power lines adjacent to the trial area made aerial application difficult, resulting in heavier powdery mildew pressure in parts of the trial closest to the power lines. No bolting plants were observed for any of the varieties in the trial. 'ACH 9931 RR' had reduced stand (36,157 plants/acre) compared to all other varieties (38,540 to 40,444 plants/acre). This seemed to correlate with curly top injury that was observed during visual evaluations.

The average root yield for this trial was 42.15 ton/acre, which was slightly lower than in 2000. The average percent sugar was 16.95 percent, which was higher than in 2000 and closer to that recorded in 1999. Beet yields ranged from 43.79 tons/acre for 'HM PM 21' to 39.92 ton/acre for 'ACH 9931 RR'. 'Beta 8757 LL', 'ACH 9931 RR', 'HM PM 21' and 'HM Oasis RR' were among the highest in percent sugar, while 'HM 108 RR' and 'HM 125 Rz RR' were among the lowest in percent sugar. 'HM PM 21', 'HM Owyhee', and 'HM Oasis RR' had the highest percent extraction (92.81 to 93.06 percent). 'Beta 8757 LL', 'HM Owyhee', and 'HM PM 21' were among the highest in recoverable sugar per ton of beets and per acre. 'ACH 9931 RR' and 'HM Oasis RR' also had some of the highest sugar per ton of beets but produced less sugar per acre than some of the highest producing beets because of lower root yields.

Because no herbicides were applied, this trial provides an opportunity to compare the yield potential of the varieties tested without the confounding affects of herbicide injury. When herbicides are applied we would expect the herbicide-resistant varieties to have less injury than varieties treated with conventional herbicides.

Table 1. Root yields, sugar yields, and root quality data from sugar beet varieties in the transgenic variety trial, Malheur Experiment Station, Oregon State University, Ontario, OR, 2001.

Variety	Root yield	Sugar content	Gross sugar	Extraction	Estimated recoverable sugar
	ton/acre	%	lb/acre	%	lb/ton	lb/acre
American Crystal
ACH Mustang	41.92	16.83	14,104	92.08	309.9	12,987
ACH 9931 RR	39.92	17.26	13,782	92.37	318.9	12,730
Betaseed
Beta 8757 LL	42.68	17.20	14,674	92.43	317.9	13,563
Beta 8757 RR	42.62	17.03	14,512	92.01	313.3	13,352
Beta 8757	41.89	16.91	14,168	92.10	311.6	13,051
Beta 7CG9236 RR	41.67	16.98	14,149	92.02	312.5	13,020
Hilleshog Mono-Hy
HM PM 21	43.79	17.14	15,010	93.06	319.1	13,968
HM Owyhee	43.36	16.95	14,703	92.89	315.0272.2	13,658
HM 108 RR	42.93	16.61	14,263	92.03	305.7	13,129
HM Oasis RR	40.84	17.09	13,965	92.81	317.3	12,961
HM 125 Rz RR	42.07	16.43	13,827	92.39	303.6	12,775
Mean	42.15	16.95	14,287	92.38	313.2	13,199
LSD (0.05)	1.84	0.23	615	0.39	4.9	578

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Last updated  Tuesday July 30, 2002 .