A dry bean dessicant may have had an adverse effect on sugarbeets this year. Due to last year’s dry fall and the late start this spring, a dry bean defoliant application used in 2022 carried over and reportedly had an impact on the sugarbeets that followed. NDSU and University of Minnesota Extension Sugarbeet Agronomist Tom Peters says it was a perfect storm. “There’s a crop rotational interval where we can safety plant our next crop after putting down applicants and, unfortunately, 2022-2023 was a unique year.” According to Peters, the dessicant application probably wiped out half of the sugarbeet crop in fields with carryover. “The sugarbeets germinated and emerged as normal, but over the course of a week or so, there was a significant loss of stand.”
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