Allan Cattanach, American Crystal Sugar Co. general agronomist, is hoping for ideal weather from now through harvest.

"We'd like to see nice sunny days, probably in the low to mid-80s and then cool nights. Plants don't respire as much with the cool nights, so sugar that's built up during the day through photosynthesis in the root will remain giving us a high-quality crop at the end of the season."

Monitor fields

Cercospora, which was not a problem earlier in the growing season, is becoming much more common in the valley. "That ideal weather back in July for crop growth was also suitable for Cercospora leaf spot infection," says Cattanach. "We're encouraging growers to closely monitor their fields and work with their agriculturist to come up with recommendations for spraying."

Cattanach reminds growers to rotate their chemicals so they don't use any product twice in a row to prevent any resistance and also to stay on the spray schedule. The use of Supertin just was approved by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and is pending in North Dakota. "It allows growers to apply Supertin only seven days prior to harvest, which gives them a lot more flexibility to manage the disease during the preharvest schedule."

Some growers are experiencing insect problems that they wouldn't normally see this time of year because much of the sugar beet crop was planted late.

"We've got variegated cutworms that skeletonize some of the larger leaves and also feed down in the crown area where growth is occurring," says Cattanach. "Lygus bugs are back with us this year. They tend to feed on the new emerging growth from the center of the crown. Army worms and leaf miners have also caused problems."

Growers also are experiencing some problems with late season weeds. "Resistant Kochia is a big problem, especially in the northern end of the valley," says Cattanach. "We're also seeing pigweed which stands about a foot or 2 above the canopy. We think some new species have developed that are more difficult to control."