The development of sugar-beet rhizomania and its control in the UK

Sugar-beet rhizomania disease, caused by Beet necrotic yellow vein virus, was first recorded in the UK in 1987 and has since been detected on c. 7,300 ha on 211 farms. Its development has been slow, and the area affected is small, compared to other countries where it occurs. So far the disease has been found predominantly on loamy sands in the intensive production areas of East Anglia although, in recent years, outbreaks have started to appear in other regions and on heavier soil types. Its early appearance on sandy soils may be due to their capacity to warm up more rapidly following sowing. Measures to slow the spread of the disease, administered as part of the UK's Protected Zone status for rhizomania, have included extensive annual surveys to detect the disease, in situ destruction of affected pails of crops and prohibition of beet growing on infested fields. In recent years cultivars with high levels of partial resistance and which are otherwise suited to UK, conditions have been successfully trialled. With the loss of Protected Zone status in April 2001 statutory controls have been replaced by voluntary measures, with increasing reliance on the use of resistant cultivars. This trend is likely to continue as cultivars are further improved.