Sugarbeet Section
The per capita consumption of sugar is 25 Kgs per annum which is the highest among the developing countries and is going to increase with the improvement in the per capita income and increasing growth rate. According to an estimate this demand of sugar will increase similar to the growth rate in population which is 2.3% per annum. A rough estimate suggests that by the year 2020 the country will need about 5.5 million tons of sugar to meet the national demands and require 1.5 million hectares of area under sugar cane crop compared to now of 1 million hectare.
Area under sugar cane crop can not be increased beyond a level which is 1 million hectare because of its competition with other food staples, mainly wheat. The only other alternative will be to increase per unit area yield of the crop which in turn has not been increased significantly during the last 50 years.
Sugarbeet can be an alternative to change the scenario. It is a low delta crop (27 acre inches) of short duration (4 to 6 months) with low irrigation requirements of 5-6 times compared to 25-30 irrigations required by sugar cane high delta crop ( 46 acre inches) which makes a good case for the policy planners to think under the crises situation of water shortage in present and future scenario. (Sugar Beet a Supplement to Sugarcane for sugar production in Pakistan, Report on the Fact Finding Mission from 16th April to 10th May2007)
Brief History of Sugarbeet in NWFP
In Peshawar valley of NWFP, Roberston Brown started experimental research work on Sugarbeet in 1912 which continued up to 1931 on a small scale. From 1935 to 1938 experiments were conducted at Agriculture Research Institute, Tarnab Farm, Peshawar. Looking at the promise of the crop the NWFP government finally sanctioned a small scheme of research on Sugarbeet cultivation in NWFP.
Commercial cultivation of sugarbeet in Peshawar valley started in 1959. At present SCRI, Mardan is the only institute working on the development of new and promising sugarbeet varieties and improved production technology. This institute is working on the varietal development and standardization of improved production technology of sugarbeet since 1973.
Sugarbeet Section Achievements
Breeding
So far this institute has developed seven sugarbeet 
varieties. The only breeding method applied at present is selection. Small quantity of sugarbeet varieties seed are procured from different sugarbeet growing countries of the world. These are planted at the institute in varietal evaluation trials and promising varieties are recommended for the area.
Through these endeavors, six varieties of Sugarbeet have been released to the farmers.
S.No. |
Variety |
Root Yield (T/ha) |
Sugar% |
Sugar Yield (T/ha) |
1. |
Kawe A.A. |
38.50 |
12.75 |
4.91 |
2. |
Kawe Poly |
42.13 |
13.05 |
5.50 |
3. |
Kawe-E |
44.55 |
13.60 |
6.06 |
4. |
M.Maroc Poly |
47.18 |
13.88 |
6.55 |
5. |
Kawe Mira |
47.80 |
14.25 |
6.81 |
6. |
Kawe Terma |
47.55 |
14.81 |
7.05 |
A new variety KWS-1451 is in pipeline
CANDIDATE VARIETY: KWS. 1451
ROOT YIELD: 652.5 Mds/ACRE
SUGAR: 14.63 %
SUGAR YIELD: 95.5 Mds/ACRE.
Agronomy
Following is the package of technology developed for sugarbeet at SCRI.
Land Selection: Can be grown on any type of soil but on highly acidic soils germination is badly affected. A fine sandy clay loam soil has been found very suitable for its plantation.
Land Preparation: Deep ploughing followed by discing and leveling. Ridges should be erected at a distance of 50 cm.
Planting Time: 15th September to end of October.
Planting Method: Seed should be sown on ridges 20 cm apart at a depth of 3 cm.
Thinning: Should be done at 4-6 leaf stage. Single big and healthy plant should be kept.
Seed Rate: 5.00 Kg per hectare
Fertilizer: 100 Kg P2O5 and first dose of 90 Kg N per hectare should be applied at sowing time before ridges formation and the second dose of 50 Kg N per hectare should be applied in early spring, preferably February.
Irrigation: 6-8 irrigations have been found sufficient for maturity of the crop.
Weeds Control: Spray of Dual Gold @ 2.5 liters per hectare is recommended after 4-5 days of first irrigation.
Insect Pests Control: For the control of grass hoppers and crickets Sevin Dust @ 4 Kg per hectare should be dusted on the crop. For aphids and thrips which attack in March, Folidal @ 0.5-1.0 liters per hectare should be sprayed for their control.
Disease Control: For Cercospora leaf spot, and Phoma Dithan M45 @ 5 Kg/ha starting from April at 15 days interval till harvest has been recommended. For Scleortial Rot disease judicious use of irrigation water and resistant varieties should be used. Simimlarly to control them the crop should be sown only once in three years on the same piece of land.
Intercropping: It has been tested in intercrops with sugarcane, cauliflower, turnips, raddish, and onion.
Harvesting time: Optimum harvesting time is May and June.
Storage: Prolonged storage deteriorates the crop. For temporary storage sugarbeet leaves or trees branches should be used.
Sugarbeet Production constraints
The important and common constraint in sugarbeet cultivation is marketing. Furthermore, more than 70% farmers in Peshawar valley intercrop sugarcane in sugarbeet and want to harvest sugarbeet as early as possible so that they start sugarcane management. In this way there is a great rush in the mills for getting indents for quicker supply of sugarbeet roots to the factories. Another problem is the availability of transport. The mills management get transport for beet supply on contract basis. As the number of vehicles with them is limited therefore, supply is delayed and the quality is decreased.
In the same way, sugarbeet comes in competition with wheat crop. Majority of the growers in Peshawar valley are small land holders. Hence, most growers hesitate to grow sugarbeet due to marketing and transport of the crop.