Resistance testing of sugar beet varieties to yellowing viruses at GEVES
Yellowing viruses are a major issue for sugar beet crop yields. The search for varieties with resistance to yellowing viruses is therefore a priority for the plant sector. GEVES is collaborating with INRAE (France’s National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment) and ITB (French Technical Institute for Sugar Beet) in the ExTraPol project designed to improve our knowledge of the epidemiology of these viruses and to produce an optimised and reliable protocol for resistance testing. Together with the CTPS, GEVES has already set up a new testing characteristic for evaluating the resistance of beet varieties to aphid-transmitted yellowing viruses. In compliance with sanitary precautions, viruliferous aphids are multiplied at GEVES and then placed on test plots in the CTPS network to contaminate the varieties being studied. The first varieties with declared resistance to yellowing viruses were tested in 2019/2020.
