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ARS Home » Midwest Area » East Lansing, Michigan » Sugarbeet and Bean Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #117980
Title: REGISTRATION OF SR87 SUGARBEET GERMPLASM WITH LOW SOIL TARE AND RESISTANCES TO CERCOSPORA AND APHANOMYCES

Author
item Saunders, Joseph
item McGrath, Jon
item THEURER, J
item Halloin, John

Submitted to: Crop Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/1/2000
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Beet sugar could be produced more economically if beetroots could be harvested with less soil, because cleaner beets reduce post-harvest sugar losses from respiration in pile storage, minimize disease spread from infested soil, as well as lower costs for disposal of flume soil (considered an industrial waste) by processing companies. SR87 has a smoother more soil-free root than conventional sugarbeet. SR87 should contribute to the next generation of hybrid varieties meeting the demand of sugar producers for sugarbeet with less tare dirt and better pile storage after harvest. The cost efficiencies resulting from smooth root sugarbeet will be essential to profitability for sugarbeet farmers and processors in the rural as well as national economy.

Technical Abstract: SR87 is a multigerm sugarbeet line combining very low soil tare with excellent resistances to Cercospora leaf spot and Aphanomyces seedling and root diseases. SR87 has become the standard for root smoothness and low soil tare in the US sugarbeet industry. SR87 resulted from an open- pollination increase of bulked half-sib seed produced on 35 mother beets selected for extreme root smoothness from the smoothroot line SP85700. SR87 is diploid, relatively easy bolting, and self-sterile with some selfing under conditions of individual plant isolation. SR87 yielded a sucrose concentration 85 percent of the mean of that of two commercial cultivars B5931 and HME17 in trials at Saginaw MI in 1997 and 1998. SR87 had a Cercospora disease index not significantly different from the very resistant line EL50 in the 1997 USDA-ARS evaluation at Ft. Collins CO. SR87 had a very resistant stand rating in the 1997 Betaseed summer root rot t(Aphanomyces) evaluation at Shakopee MN.