Fodder beets

Fodder beets have a high production capacity and are a tasty, high-quality roughage. Fodder beets are also the cheapest roughage in VEM per hectare and provide better mineral utilization on the dairy farm. The high energy content makes them extremely suitable for highly productive dairy cattle. A ration with fodder beets can limit the amount of concentrates required.

Enough options are currently available to considerably reduce the labor requirement in the spring, during harvest and during feeding. Including fodder beets in the crop rotation also breaks the maize monoculture.

Despite these characteristics, after the year 2000 the acreage cultivated with fodder beet dropped sharply, partly due to the increased incidence of Rhizoctonia solani. In 2008 and 2009, the acreage of fodder beet in Flanders increased again due to the uncertainty about the availability of sugar beet pulp, and because the Belgian variety catalog includes a variety with good Rhizoctonia tolerance.

Since 2015, the acreage has increased significantly because fodder beets are a very good fit as a third crop on the livestock farm under the new CAP.

Descriptive list of fodder beet varieties 2024

Breeders and representatives of fodder beet 2024

Frequently Asked Questions

Rhizoctonia solani causes root burn and/or root rot. Typical symptoms are dead leaves ('dormant beets') and rotten roots. The fungus can survive for years in the soil in the form of sclerotia. The disease is more likely to occur on light soils (sand, light loam) and manifests itself more quickly in areas with structural damage, i.e., headlands and wet areas.

Rhizoctonia has a wide spectrum of host plants for both agricultural crops and weeds. This makes it easy for the fungus to develop under many circumstances. Important weeds in which the disease does not manifest itself but does multiply are, for example, dandelion, barnyard grass and meadow grass.

Sensitive agricultural crops are sugar beet, maize and grasses. This can make it difficult to include fodder beet in the crop rotation. Spreading of animal manure can also be beneficial for Rhizoctonia. Beet pits containing Rhizoctonia from infested beets clearly present problems in storage because the process of rotting continues in the pit.

The best solution to combat Rhizoctonia is to choose tolerant varieties. The tolerance usually does not imply full immunity. In case of Rhizoctonia infestation, the percentage of loss and the degree of infestation will be much smaller in tolerant varieties than in non-tolerant varieties. The Belgian variety list includes two varieties with an average to high tolerance against Rhizoctonia, namely Rialto and Laurena KWS.

Because Rhizoctonia often occurs locally in a plot, it is not easy to assess the Rhizoctonia tolerance of varieties on the basis of field trials. That is why a bioassay was developed at ILVO to assess Rhizoctonia tolerance under controlled conditions in the greenhouse. Based on these biotests, varieties can be divided into 3 groups; results can be found in the last column of the variety list.

Attention: Yield data in the variety list are based on yield tests without Rhizoctonia infestation.

A subdivision is made into 2 groups based on the dry matter content:

Group 1: fodder beets with a medium to high dry matter content
Group 2: fodder beets with a high to very high dry matter content

The main criteria for the choice of varieties are: the method of feeding (cutting or non-mixed silage) and the production capacity.

It is recommended to sow a Rhizoctonia-tolerant variety on fields with an increased risk of Rhizoctonia infestation.

With most triploid varieties the crop closes more quickly than with diploid varieties and the ground cover also remains better during the growing season, giving the weeds less opportunity to develop. When sowing early, varieties with good bolting resistance should be chosen.

Mildew, Cercospora and rust are the diseases for which varietal differences were observed. It pays to take the disease susceptibility into account when choosing a variety, especially when no disease control is carried out. A single fungicide treatment is being applied at more and more farms. Fungicides are never used in the official variety trials. The influence of disease is therefore reflected in the yield figures shown in the variety overview.

Fodder beets are almost exclusively harvested mechanically. Before sowing, it is important to be well informed and to choose varieties accordingly:

Row spacing and planting density depend on the harvester. For harvesting with a sugar beet harvester, a homogeneous position of 85,000 pl./ha is optimal. The distance between rows is usually 50 cm.

If the fodder beets are fed without first being ground, then a variety with a dry matter content lower than 15% must be selected. The dry matter content in this table is an average over several years and gives a good indication of the expected dry matter content.

For a maize-fodder beet mix silage, a good fodder beet variety will contain at least 15.5% DM and take as little adhering soil as possible into the silage. Keep in mind that the beet harvest usually has to take place at the beginning of October, resulting in a slightly lower dry matter content and dry matter yield as shown in the variety overview. In research and practice, people are looking for other products to ensile together with the beets, e.g. pressed pulp. This makes it possible to harvest the fodder beets later and use their production capacity.

When harvesting, the beets are best defoliated and not topped (at most cut into the leaf rosette). This is necessary to prevent rot if the beets are stored fresh.