Sugar beets are a Kenyan crop of the future that can be processed into as much sugar as cane in half the time and provide livestock with fodder that is similar in quality to expensive cereal grains.
This double use is projected to grow global sugar beet demand by 5.5 per cent every year, taking its market valuation to $7.8bn by 2034. In Kenya, the opening of the Ranges Sugar Factory in Nyandarua County which crushes 50 tons of sugar beets from its 320 farmers to produce 10 tons of sugar daily is the first step towards the crop’s commercialisation. The crop’s tubers provide up to 45 tons of high-energy feed in an acre that is loved by cows for its sweet taste. According to the International Livestock Research Institute, as a fodder option, sugar beet’s rewards are high in terms of yield and animal performance despite the crop requiring a lot of work to cultivate.
Seeds
Simlaw Seed’s Sugar Top which yields 32 to 45 tons a hectare in 4½ to 5 months under good management is the main source of sugar beets in Kenya.
Through the Ranges Sugar Factory, farmers can get discounted sugar top seeds for Sh950 for 250 gram seeds which is enough to plant a quarter of an acre of land, 500 grams, is enough for half an acre for Sh1,900 while a kilogram of seed which costs Sh3,800 can fit an acre of land. The company also imports other varieties from the European Union into the country for experimental purposes.
The crop’s leaves contribute three to four tonnes of dry matter/ha and are an excellent source of animal fodder. While the roots are high in energy but contain just 6 per cent crude protein, tops or leaves are modest in energy but contain 16.7 per cent crude protein.
The crop grows best in highlands (1800–3000 masl) that experience at least 750 mm of rain.
According to Ranges Sugar Factory’s chief crop researcher and extension officer, John Maina, The company currently works with farmers who are only in Nyandarua due to the region’s peculiar temperate weather. “The climate here almost mimics European summer weather which is ideal for sugar beets,” he said.
Field trials run in Nyandarua County have however found Sugar Top sugar beets to be tolerant to adverse drought seasons as well as to periods of frost. They specifically tolerated drought in 2002 and 2005 that affected maize yields in the county.
Ranges is also trialling it in drier and hotter regions of the country such as South Narok to gauge its growth time and yields.
Sugar beet growing guide
By Henry Jami Mang’eni
Growing Conditions
Tropical sugar beets grow best in temperatures of between 18 to 32°C and have rich well-drained soils, a pH of 6.0 and 7.5 with full exposure to the sun. They should not be grown in areas that suffer from frequent floods as this rots the tuber and should also not be grown in thick clay soils as harvesting the tubers will be too labour demanding.
In Kenya sugar beet does well in some parts of Rift Valley, Western, Central, and Nyanza.
Climatic Requirements: The crop does well in cold areas but the planting activity that has been done in warm areas has shown a quick growth rate therefore it needs to be promoted also in the warm areas where the sun has been seen to promote fast growth.
Sugar beet is planted at the onset of rains in March/April/May and then matures for harvesting in September/October.
This means growing it at the onset of the short rain season of October/November /December will have it mature during the onset of drought. It is however not a drought-tolerant crop.
Nursery Management
According to Maina, sugar beets should be managed in the nursery like other vegetables for four to five weeks.
They are watered once or twice a day for the first week while still underground and at a rate of 20 litres per metre squared daily for the remaining four weeks ensuring that the soil is moist as the crop does not require continuous wetness.
Field Management
Transplanting is timed to coincide with the start of the rains and 45cm deep planting holes are prepared with a handful of manure and a teaspoon full of NPK 17-20-20 fertiliser. The plant works well with manures, other organic fertilizers, and biofertilizers.
While in the nursery and a month after transplanting, the main pests for the tuber are cutworms which can be tackled with pesticides used for other crops.
First weeding is done in the first month and the second weeding at the end of the second month, “Timely weeding is crucial with sugar beets as they can be easily chocked and overrun by weeds in the first two months before their leaves grow,” John advised.
The recommended 50-centimetre spacing between rows and 10-centimetre between plants also ensures that the sugar beets cover their growing suppressing weed growth.
Pest Management
The weeds that persist during the third and fourth months can be manually uprooted. Though they become hardy and suffer minimal pest damage after the first month in the field they can be affected by aphids during the dry season which can be sprayed using pesticides and are also chased away by rains or irrigation.
Powdery mildew affects beet leaves, while root diseases such as rhizoctonia root rot and the soil-borne rhizomania fungus can also be found in sugar beet fields. Nematodes as well as larvae from the beet beetle and the lined click beetle also feed on the beet plants.
While pesticides used for other crops can be bought for all the above, crop rotation is the most proven method of tackling all these diseases.
Animals like monkeys, porcupines, and antelopes can also be destructive as they get addicted to the crop’s sweet taste.
John Maina, Ranges: 0701013007
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