Bolting issues in some beet crops

It is not unusual to find problems with bolting in beet varieties in Ireland. In 2015, there was somewhat more bolting than normal, possibly arising directly from the relatively cold conditions in April and May.

Beet is a biennial plant which means that it should grow vegetatively in the first year and then go into reproductive mode, or bolt, in the second year having been exposed to colder conditions over winter.

For a range of reasons, a proportion of plants can produce bolters in the first growing year. These can produce seed which will fertilise and shed to produce a longer-term weed beet problem in a field if they are not removed. Bolters produce little or no root and so take from crop yield if they are not removed early.

Sometimes individual varieties can show a particular problem with susceptibility to bolting. In 2015, the variety Minotaure proved to be somewhat more prone to bolting than other varieties, with 1% to 3% recorded in many crops. But this is likely to be a result of the combined spring weather and variety effect. Goldcrop, which sells this variety, has contacted all growers who grew this variety in 2015 and all of these crops have since been inspected.

Wherever the crop had a problem, the company either contracted in outside help to have the bolters removed early in the season or the grower was paid directly to remove these plants to protect the field from seed shedding. Growers were also offered compensation based on the level of bolters present.