- Wisconsin Grower uses Onion
Know-how to Raise Beets in Beds
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Krentz, of Berlin, Wis., started growing beets on his 1,200-acre farm six years ago. In addition to growing 100 acres of beets in 1999, he also grew corn, soybeans and winter wheat, plus he did some trials with cabbage. He also does custom work on 5,000 additional acres near his central Wisconsin farm.
Krentz knew when he started growing beets for Chiquita in Ripon and Senca in Clyman that the canning companies wanted beets of uniform size, and he quickly learned that growing beets in traditional 20-inch rows gave anything but a uniform sized product.
With the help of an $8,000 Agricultural Development and Diversification (ADD) grant from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection in 1997, Krentz experimented with both production methods and seeding rates to achieve optimum production.
“I’ve tried to use a little bit of how onions are grown in the muck and apply it to beets in the high land,” he explains.
Krentz looked at the beds in which growers plant onions and applied the same idea to beets. Using a grain drill and blocking holes for wheel tracks, he planted 60-inch beds.
Growing beets in beds has its challenges, and weed control is one of the biggest challenges.
“There are not a lot of chemicals to control weeds,” he says.
Row beets have an advantage over beds in that they can be cultivated. Roneet and Pyrimin both are labeled herbicides in Wisconsin. In Krentz’s sandier soils, though, application rates have to be cut, and broadleaf weeds, particularly ragweed and lambsquarter, can become problems. He relies on a wick applicator and Roundup for mid-season weed control.
Beets like lots of nitrogen and “they don’t like wet feet,” Krentz notes. For row beets, he applies 120 pounds of nitrogen. In his beds, he increases nitrogen levels to 220 pounds to account for higher seeding rates, and he believes that level is “about right.” The nitrogen is sidedressed four times during the growing season.
Krentz uses a Lockwood beet defoliator for topping beets. Beets are topped to reduce the amount of plant matter going to the processing plant and to put beet growth on hold once the producer feels they’ve reached their ideal size.
One goal: uniformity
Uniformity of beets is important in boosting producers’ bottom line, Krentz stresses. Producers strive to produce beets that are 1.0 to 1.5 inches in diameter.
“That was the whole idea behind this project - to maintain uniform size,” Krentz says of experimenting with beets in beds. “If a beet plant is off by itself, it will get oversized.”
Beet processors pay producers for uniformity. For example, Krentz’s contacts for 1999 paid $75 a ton if 76% of the load ranged between 0.75 and 2.0 inches in diameter. However, the producer is paid only $20 a ton for the rest of the load when the beets measure between 2.0 and 3.75 inches.
“I want to get 90% of my loads from three-quarters to two inches,” he says.
In the first two loads harvested, 76% and 82% of Krentz’s beets were graded in that desired 0.75- to 2.0-inch size. While Krentz has yet to receive a final accounting from the processing companies, he believes between 55%-75 percent of the crop will fall into the ideal range.
Seeding rates
When Krentz started to experiment with growing beets in beds, he also started to look at different seeding rates. In traditional 20-inch rows, beets typically are seeded at a rate of 20 pounds per acre.
“At the time we did the experiment, we did different seeding rates to see what would give the best yields,” he says. “We found we can plant them too thick and we can plant them too thin.”
Krentz planted beets in beds at 30, 40, 60, 80 and 100 pounds per acre. At the higher rates of 80 to 100 pounds, the beets were too thick and couldn’t develop to the desired size.
“We looked at 40 pounds, and that looks like the best potential for the greatest return,” he says. “With the proper growing conditions, though, I think 60 pounds has potential, too.”
About half his 1999 beet acreage was row beets, while the remainder was in beds. In the beds, he used a 40-pound seeding rate on land that ranged from black loam to sand.
A typical yield for row beets is 12 tons weighed at the processor. Despite having excess rainy periods in early spring, Krentz achieved a three- to five-ton increase on well-drained soils due to higher seeding rates and beds.
He believes beet beds and higher seeding rates hold still greater potential.
“Twenty and twenty-five ton beets at the cannery are not out of the question,” he says.
Labor requirements for row versus bed beets are about the same. Bed beets require higher input costs only for seed and fertilizer, and Krentz believes the potential for increased yields and better prices for uniform beets more than justify planting in beds.
“You can get the (uniform) size of the beets and increase the yields for a higher per ton pay,” he says. “And I know there’s potential for higher yield increases.”
With some satisfaction with his seeding rate and bed production methods, Krentz is once again turning to ideas gleaned from onion producers – this time for harvesting beets. He also is looking at how the potato industry harvests its crop.
“At the present time, we’re working to develop the perfect harvester,” he says.
He currently uses a Wics sugar beet digger, but knows changes are needed for beets grown in beds.
“For beds, we want a better cleaning bed (on the digger) because there is so much trash, and we’ve got to come up with a way to lift the beets before they go to the harvester -loosen the ground under them - to help the harvester to pick them up,” he explained.
“With onions, you lift them up and lay them on top of the ground,” he adds. With beets, you can’t do that. They (beet processors) want them delivered to the cannery within 24 hours of harvest. You can’t harvest them and leave them sit there. They have to go from the ground to the truck to the cannery.”
Whether Krentz eventually will go completely with beets in beds depends a lot on whether he can develop the perfect harvester at an affordable price. Even with what he has learned about growing beets in beds, it is the bottom line that will dictate which direction he goes.
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