With most of the 2026 sugar beet crop now planted, attention is turning to how well crops establish and perform throughout the season ahead.

For KWS’s sugar beet product manager, Martin Brown, that also makes this the right time to start looking ahead, as he says variety choice will play a key role in helping growers manage weed beet, disease pressure and crop resilience.

While the focus on farm is shifting to crop emergence, plant counts and early crop development, this point in the season also offers a useful opportunity to reflect on the decisions that influence performance from the outset, and to start thinking ahead to next year.

Martin says variety choice is central to that thinking: “Growers can’t change the conditions they have drilled into, but they can assess how crops establish, how well they cope with field-specific pressures and where different varietal traits could add value in future seasons.”

“Sugar beet has been up and down in recent years, but in general its margins still compare favourably with cereals.

 “Although there has been a dip in demand for 2026 after a run of high-yielding crops, it remains a reliable crop to bank on, provided the growing process is properly managed.”

Martin says the 2026 season is another reminder that strong establishment remains the foundation of yield.

“Too often, especially on heavier soils in dry springs, cultivations have been rushed or insufficiently refined. That leads to cloddy seedbeds and poor seed-to-soil contact. Given growers are only placing 110,000-120,000 seeds/ha, every seed must count.”

He adds that modern machinery can sometimes tempt growers to push on when conditions are less than ideal.

“Today’s heavier kit, paired with a temptation to push on regardless of soil condition, can come back to bite growers. It may seem like you can get away with it at drilling, but the penalty comes later when plant stands are less than ideal and roots are small.”

That is becoming more relevant as growers weigh up which genetics are best suited to the pressures on their own farms.

KWS has developed varieties offering traits for specific challenges, including beet cyst nematode, virus yellows tolerance, cercospora protection and weed beet control through Conviso^® Smart.

“It wasn’t long ago that rhizomania resistance was a niche trait, but now it is universal,” says Martin.

“Since then, we’ve added BCN tolerance, Conviso^® Smart for weed beet control, virus yellows tolerance, and most recently CR+ for cercospora. Each trait addresses a specific on-farm challenge.”

For growers already thinking ahead to 2027, Martin believes Conviso^® Smart will be part of that conversation where weed beet is compromising crop potential.

“If weed beet is limiting, Conviso^® Smart can open that land back up,” he says. “Stacked-trait Conviso^® Smart varieties such as Smart Nelda have opened up ground that was previously off limits by combining weed beet control with BCN tolerance.”

He adds that this season will also highlight the value of resistance packages later in the year, particularly where disease pressure builds.

“If BCN is present, pick a tolerant variety. If weed beet is limiting, Conviso^® Smart can open that land back up. For later lifts into December or January, canopy health and disease resistance are essential.”

He adds: “With the 2026 crop now mostly planted, the immediate job is to protect its potential.”

And for KWS, the season is also a live demonstration of why variety choice matters. “As growers assess crop performance over the months ahead, the lessons from this year could prove just as valuable when it comes to choosing the right genetics for 2027.