Three new hybrid sugarbeet varieties for early planting

Three hybrid sugarbeet varieties adapted to early plantings have been released for use by sugarbeet growers. One variety, designated US H6, is multigerm; and two varieties, designated US H7 and US H8, are monogerm. All three varieties were developed at the USDAAIisaI Branch, Agricultural Research Service, Salinas, in cooperation with the Beet Sugar Development Foundation and the University of California. The new varieties have been thoroughly field tested by the U. S. Department of Agriculture and the California sugar companies in the major sugarbeet producing areas of the State. In these tests the hybrid varieties produced from 10 to 20% more sugar per acre than open-pollinated varieties such as US 75, a variety used extensively in California five to ten years ago. The root yield and sucrose percentage of the three hybrid varieties are similar. The growers' choice of a variety would be determined by his requirements for curly-top and bolting resistance, and by his need for a monogerm variety suited to mechanical thinning.