KWS CR+™

A revolution in Cercospora Management

Cercospora is a challenging disease. CR+ offers a tool to get back in control.

Cercospora Leaf Spot is by far the most destructive disease of sugar beet – by reducing yield by up to 50%. Furthermore cercospora leads to reduced processing quality of roots, reducing productivity.

Cercospora is of growing concern in the UK. In the 2020/21 campaign we saw devasting effects in the Wissington factory area, paired with bad Virus Yellows.

In the 23/24 campaign albeit there was no bad outbreak of cercospora, patches of the disease were easy to find in fields, across a large acreage of the beet growing area. This shows the disease has spread and this will unfortunately be providing an inoculum bank for future years.

Germany 2020, CR+ trials

Symptoms

The disease appears as small (2 – 3 mm) round grey spots with reddish margins. Under humid conditions and with the use of a hand lens, black spots (spore producing structures) can be seen in the centre of the lesions, which helps to distinguish it from Ramularia.

Severe infections result in death of leaves.

Superior Cercospora Leaf Spot management.

"CR+ management goal is green leaves until harvest"

Frequently Asked Questions

How do CR+ varieties help me to control Cercospora?

With CR+ the Cercospora leaf spots appear later and the disease progression is slowed down compared to other varieties.

As a result, the thresholds are reached later and spraying intervals might be longer.

How do the new generation of CR+ varieties differ from current Cercospora varieties?

The aim of plant breeding is to achieve the best possible combination of tolerance AND yield - under all growing conditions, with and without disease infestation. The new Cercospora variety generation follows a new rule:

CERCOSPORA PROTECTION + YIELD PERFORMANCE

Can I rely on fungicides alone to control Cercospora?

Fungicide resistances spread widely and thus reduce the efficacy of plant protection products.

A broad use of active substances for the prevention of resistances is no longer possible as their number is being further limited.

Integrated pest management is becoming increasingly important - farmers are forced to limit their fungicide use as much as possible.

Why does it pay-off to achieve the CR+ Management Goal: Green Leaves Until Harvest?

Your beet will stay fully productive.

It will break the cycle of infection - infected leaves of the current year are the starting point for new infection next year.

Disease pressure is reduced what supports the durability of fungicides as well as of the CR+ trait.

CHYMA KWS

This is the first variety in the UK to have our CR+ trait.

An exciting introduction for 2025. CHYMA KWS is the cleanest variety available:

Outstanding tolerance to cercospora
High yields and sugar content
Highest untreated yield

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Do you want to know which products fit your regional conditions best? Do you have any trouble with pests or diseases? We will gladly answer any questions you might have to achieve best yields and results.

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