Enrich beet yields with latest innovations in seed technology
10th August 2025
As a sugar beet grower, you know how crucial it is to get the right start for your crop. A good germination rate, fast and even emergence, and strong establishment can take beet from a mediocre yield to a bumper harvest.
Sentry’s farm manager, Alastair Gray manages over 3,000ha across eight farms in North Norfolk. With a quota for 25,000 tonnes, between 350–400ha is dedicated to sugar beet production each year.
“We’re currently looking at 110,000 plants per hectare,” says Alastair. “Xbeet enrich treated seeds, drilled into good conditions, have come up through the ground, experienced no cold snaps and kept growing.
“By the time of the Suffolk Show in late May, our most forward crops were already meeting across the rows. It shows just how much growth they can put on when they get a good start and conditions are conducive.”
Importance of seed treatment
Sugar beet has always been an important part of the rotation for Sentry’s farms in Norfolk, although Alastair acknowledges it isn’t the easiest crop to establish.
“It has tiny seeds which, given half an opportunity, will die,” he surmises. “When you think about the bulk of its root and canopy, for its size, that seed has a lot of work to do.”
Germains Seed Technology lead scientist, Jordan Long, agrees: “Smaller seeds, like beet, have fewer resources to draw upon during germination and early establishment.
“It is one of the reasons why our seed treatment Xbeet enrich 300 is so impactful – as well as primers to speed up germination, it contains nutrients and biostimulants to support and promote early growth.”
“After chitting, the last thing beet seed wants to do is stop,” says Alastair. “That initial momentum is essential and is what gives crops treated with enrich products their yield potential.”
Alastair describes Xbeet enrich as his ‘go-to’ seed treatment and the new enrich 400 treatment will be no exception.
“The treatments have always done a good job, with higher germination and seedling growth than others we’ve looked at,” he says.
Having hosted trials and used Xbeet enrich for a number of years, Alastair has observed the portfolio’s progress and recognises Germains’ continual drive for improvement. It’s an ethos that mirrors Sentry’s own.
“We’ve hosted demonstration trials over at least five years, it’s great to see the improvements with each generation.”
2% yield uplift
This year’s trials feature Germains Seed Technology’s latest innovation, Xbeet enrich 400.
“It’s our most advanced sugar beet seed treatment yet,” explains Jordan. “It’s been developed specifically for UK farmers and is scientifically proven both in trials and on-farm to increase yields by 2%.
“In comparison with our current market leading product, Xbeet enrich 400 offers an additional 1.5t/ha for a grower achieving 75t/ha.”
Longer-term crop support
In addition to the primer, nutrients and biostimulants in Xbeet enrich 300, the latest formulation contains plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) which are known for colonising plant root systems to effectively extend their reach.
“As part of their own lifecycles, these microbes break down soil nutrients like phosphorus, potassium and key micronutrients that would otherwise be inaccessible to plants,” says Jordan.
“These microbes establish symbiotic relationships with plants, exchanging essential nutrients and water for carbon-rich compounds produced by the plant’s root system. These longer-term benefits enhance plant growth and accelerate canopy development to produce stronger, more resilient crops.
“Unlike the nutrients and biostimulants, the advantages that beneficial microbes bring aren’t finite but continue as crops develop.”
For Alastair, the importance of the innovative work of Germains Seed Technology goes beyond the farm gate.
“Seed is expensive, and we need to make sure that we make every seed count. That is what validates our investment into Xbeet enrich seed treatments. In the wider context, we’re all under pressure to increase yields. It is this sort of continued innovation that will help UK farmers achieve that.”
It’s an important point for Germains Seed Technology, as Jordan explains: “Growers are facing unprecedented challenges – environmental, financial and political – and helping them navigate these pressures underpins our work at Germains Seed Technology. As well as providing solutions that enable crops to get off to the best start, we’ve invested in tools that aid decision making.
“Our recently launched sugar beet seed calculator, for example, addresses the increased complexity associated with choosing the right seed treatments. While crop yield is still the most important factor, seed rates and potential beet prices also play a role in decision-making.”
The recently launched easy-to-use calculator is designed to help growers and advisers compare options.
It combines the grower’s own unique data with results from Germains UK trials to estimate potential yields and financial returns.
“As we look to the future, our focus remains on delivering innovative solutions that help growers like Alastair achieve their yield potential and overcome the challenges they face.
Seed breeders do a fantastic job at developing new varieties, but only Germains is 100% focused on developing seed treatments to meet the needs of UK growers,” concludes Jordan.
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