A novel pre-breeding strategy to reduce dependence on insecticides for virus yellows control in sugar beet

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Virus yellows in sugar beet is a greater problem in the UK than anywhere else in Europe because of our maritime climate, which favours the aphid vector. The UK beet industry invests up to £7M annually on insecticides (seed treatments and foliar sprays) for aphid control, without which virus yellows could cause losses of up to £10million/year. Recent EU restrictions on neonicotinoid use and the development of insecticide resistance in aphids in Europe, threatens to significantly increase virus yellows in UK-grown sugar beet, making the UK crop less competitive in world markets. Development of sugar beet resistant to virus yellows is therefore critical. We have identified wild beet that are resistant to the effects of virus yellows and have crossed this trait into sugar beet. We propose to develop this resistance further by crossing our resistant lines with modern breeding varieties and carry out rigorous testing of our new varieties for virus yellows resistance, plant vigour and sugar yield. This 5yr pre-breeding project will accelerate the production of new virus yellows resistant sugar beet varieties, bringing significant economic and environmental benefits to the UK and Europe.