Sugar-beet seed treatments and early sowing.

(...) Eight experiments between 1987 and 1988 showed that with early March sowings, therecently introduced 12 hour thiram-steep seed treatment gave an average of 15% more plants than the previous EMP-steep treatment. Therefore, in future, more growers may be tempted to sow before 20 March, the earliest date recommended at present. However, the thiram-steeped seed gave more bolters: the increase was equivalent to plants responding to about three additional cool days (air max <12 C) after sowing. In some years, sowing thiram-steeped seed even as early as 20 March could give enough bolters which, if not controlled, would cause weed beet infestations (...)