ARS | Publication request: Transgenic sugar beet cultivars evaluated for resistance to rhizomania and storability in Idaho, 2007

Submitted to: Plant Disease Management Reports
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: June 25, 2008
Publication Date: July 21, 2008
Citation: Strausbaugh, C.A., Eujayl, I.A., Rearick, E., Foote, P. 2008. Transgenic sugar beet cultivars evaluated for resistance to rhizomania and storability in Idaho, 2007. Plant Disease Management Reports. 2:FC106.

Interpretive Summary: Preventing sucrose losses in storage and to rhizomania in the field is important to the economic viability of the sugar beet industry. Rhizomania, caused by Beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV), is an important viral disease problem worldwide, leading to significant yield loss in the field but also in storage. The primary means of controlling this disease is through host resistance. Thus, sugar beet cultivars with glyphosate resistance were screened to characterize them for both resistance to rhizomania and storability. All transgenic cultivars possessed good rhizomania resistance, but lost considerable sucrose in storage. These data will aid the sugar beet industry in improving cultivar performance in the field and storage.

Technical Abstract: Rhizomania caused by Beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV) and storage losses are serious sugar beet production problems. To identify sugar beet cultivars with resistance to BNYVV and increase storability, 32 transgenic (glyphosate resistant) and 6 conventional check cultivars were screened by growing them in BNYVV infested soil in Rupert, ID during the 2007 growing season in a randomized complete block design with 4 replications. At harvest on the 26 September 2007, roots were dug and evaluated for symptoms of rhizomania and also placed in an indoor commercial sugar beet storage building. Storage samples were evaluated for fungal growth known to correlate with sugar loss. Only a few cultivars had less than 20% of their surface area covered with fungal growth by February 2008. All transgenic cultivars lost 55% or more of their sucrose after 160 days in storage. Additional work will be needed to improve storability and resistance to BNYVV in sugar beet cultivars.