Traditional Breeding in Sugar Beet

Abstract

With rapidly changing agricultural practices, target environments, and biotic and abiotic stresses, plant breeders face the task of continually selecting plants with desirable traits with the goal to assemble advantageous combinations of genes in new varieties. Sugar beet has been selectively bred since the early nineteenth century with the principle objective to develop varieties with the maximum root and sucrose yield potential at the lowest economic and environmental costs possible. Historically, the most productive developments in sugar beet breeding have been monogerm seed, male-sterility and subsequent hybrid development, and pest and disease resistance. Future sugar beet breeding efforts must make use of the genetic and genomic resources available and those under development to improve the productivity and economic stability of sugar beet in global agriculture.