Frost and hail pose risks for beets

These are exciting times for beet growers. It was freezing last night in the eastern half of the Netherlands and hail fell here and there during Easter.

It is not yet possible to say exactly how much frost the young beet plants can tolerate. That depends on the growth stage of the plant, the humidity, the soil temperature and the wind. In the night of Easter Monday on Tuesday, April 18, it froze the hardest in the eastern half of the country, in Gelderland near the German border it was minus 4,7 degrees last night.

As of Tuesday morning, it is not yet known whether that caused damage. 'We have to wait and see how the crop develops. You can't see much of it yet', assures Jan Albert te Velde, contact person in the region on behalf of the agricultural department of Suiker Unie. If there is damage, it will only become clear in the coming days. However, the risk that this poses for beets remains with temperatures of -3 degrees in the east of the Netherlands.

Rain is advantage
'We are lucky that it rained', adds the agricultural department manager of Suiker Unie, Pieter Brooijmans. 'The soil is moist and the seedbed fits well. The rain releases some heat from the soil in the upper centimeters, which protects the plants. This will provide some protection during night frost, but the question remains how it will turn out. Plants that have just come through are the most vulnerable, if they have already formed leaves, they have more resistance. A few degrees will be fine, but if it freezes harder and if there is more wind, it can have an impact. And you can do nothing.'

Hail remains a risk factor
Furthermore, hail can damage the beet plants. 'In the worst case, the stem snaps or plants break off due to the wind, but I haven't received any reports to date. However, that could happen even more often in the coming weeks. Hail is always a risk factor', emphasizes Brooijmans. There was also local hail in the east. According to Te Velde, it was not white with hail. He hasn't heard a single contractor about overseeding either.

Wondering if 100% will survive the night frost .... am afraid of it #sugar beets pic.twitter.com/9FonA9TDOZ

— Stijn Derks (@stinderks) April 17, 2017

Sugar beets have real leaves, now hope they withstand the night frost #sugar beets pic.twitter.com/xAnxx0qhhx

— Sjaak Sunday (@SjaakSunday) April 17, 2017

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