BERTIE 2001
	BERTIE was drilled on 30 April 2001. Like most sugar beet growers this season, we have had to be patient and wait until soil conditions were suitable for drilling. Fortunately, we had a short spell without rain and we were able to drill beet in this sandy loam field. Nearly half of the UK sugar beet is grown on these light soils. This has an advantage at harvest time, in that soil does not stick so readily to the roots, and, therefore, it is easier to minimise the amount of soil transported to the factory on the beet.

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		24 September 2001 : (1784 day degrees since sowing)
	Click for larger image	The powdery mildew is increasing! We have highlighted the infected areas on the photo. When the weather allows, we will get a close up photo (it is difficult to get a good shot when the leaves are wet!).
		17 September 2001 : (1744 day degrees since sowing)
	The powdery mildew on BERTIE's leaves has not increased significantly over the last week.		Click for larger image
		10 September 2001 : (1677 day degrees since sowing)
	Click for larger image	Seems that we spoke too soon! It may not be clear from the picture, but it appears that BERTIE may be mildly infected with powdery mildew. We will keep an eye on how it develops and replace this picture with a clearer example soon.
		3 September 2001 : (1604 day degrees since sowing)
	The fungicide applied to BERTIE on 11th August has protected him from powdery mildew. This is illustrated when compared to the picture of a nearby, unprotected, beet (insert).		Click for larger image

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