The project

In 2018, the first activities for alternative seed treatment in sugar beet were initiated. In this project, experts from the departments of seed quality, breeding and product management are focusing on various themes. For example, an important topic is - what influence micro-/macronutrients in pelleting have on field emergence and young plant development and if there are also positive yield effects in this context. The project team is also looking at an additional question: What influence can alternative fungicides have on the number of die-off plants after emergence?

Strubes seed quality methods

With the PhenoBob it is possible to determine the field emergence, young plant - and leaf development, and mortality rate of each individual plant in the field.  Using the RTK GPS coordinates of each individual plant, the PhenoBob can find each individual plant in the plot during repeated passes and track its development over time. In the laboratory, measurements are carried out with the PhenoTest, an automated, patented test procedure for 4D phenotyping. Both the germination capacity and seedling vigour are tested. The PhenoTest is the world's first automated germination test for sugar beet with these measurement parameters and throughput. With the help of the test procedure, quality control is constantly being improved and it enables better predictions to be made about how the seed will behave in practical use. These technologies make it possible to specifically investigate the effect of the products at the various stages of plant development and to draw conclusions for their use. 

How to proceed in the future

The trials are carried out in Germany and abroad. However, the aim is to expand capacities in the international sector in the coming years and to answer various questions. In addition, experiments will also be carried out in the greenhouse / bio-test. Depending on the question and the treatments there are different test approaches - the yield recording also plays an important role.