BERTIE 2002

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		19 August 2002 (1579 day degrees since sowing)
	As the weeks go by it's getting harder to find BERTIE. Now the plants are very large, the leaves are touching and the crop canopy is covering almost the entire field. This is ideal because the maximum amount of light is being intercepted by the crop, which maximises the amount of light available to the plants to use during photosynthesis and subsequent sugar production and storage in the root.		Click for larger image
		12 August 2002 (1458 day degrees since sowing
	Click for larger image	It appears that BERTIE's visitor has left - there are no signs of the caterpillar or any damage it may have caused. The thistles around BERTIE are getting quite numerous and the one in the foreground of the picture is quite tall now. BERTIE is quite happy and continues to grow.
		5 August 2002 (1365 day degrees since sowing)
	Click for larger image	BERTIE has got a visitor - a caterpillar (Mamestra brassicae [cabbage moth]). This is not a major pest in the sugar beet crop, so control is not necessary. The weather has been quite wet in the last week, on 03-08-02 8mm of rain fell at Broom's Barn.	Click for larger image

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