At the United Beet Innovation Centre (UBIC), we conduct research for the sugarbeet varieties of the future, for every climate and region where sugarbeets grow.
Whereas the development of a new sugarbeet variety usually takes up to 10 years, at the UBIC, we can develop varieties faster than ever before in plant breeding history.
Here, we analyze with the utmost precision:
- Different climates
- Different soil types
- A wide array of pests and diseases
- Different agronomic measures (such as fertilizer, plant protection products, ...)
This allows us to develop the best possible sugarbeet varieties for farmers and industry, tailored to each agricultural situation thinkable.
Cutting-edge technology under glass
The UBIC comprises more than 13,000 square meters of glasshouses and 2,000 square meters of laboratories. It provides a home to:
- the Product Innovation department, consisting of breeders and specialized scientists
- the Phytopathology laboratories and greenhouses to support breeding (e.g. pests and diseases)
- tests for abiotic stress (e.g. heat, drought, light intensity, air humidity, soil fertility, ...)
These departments have the greatest need for space, as an immense number of young plants must be grown and analyzed under climate-controlled conditions. We are able to separately control the climate of each research compartment at the UBIC, independently of the weather and the season outside. This allows ideal research conditions as well as sugarbeet seed production and growing conditions, making provision for the breeding process to move forward faster.
Considering the vast scale of plant screenings that have to be performed at the very early breeding stage, working as efficiently as possible is crucial. That’s why different procedures in the UBIC are automated – this significantly increases our capacity, enabling us to handle an even larger plant volume than before. This only increases our chances of success in discovering the best new plants.
Curious to see how the automated process works? Take a look behind the scenes in the video below!
Sugarbeet research at its best
Of the millions of plants that undergo extensive research in our Innovation Centre, our breeders continue with only a few selected seeds originating from father and mother plants. The best offspring are multiplied on a larger scale in order to have a lot of potential options to choose from. By constantly eliminating the plants that don’t meet our high standards, we are able to select only the very best possible sugarbeets to launch on the market.
Read more about our sugarbeet breeding activities.
We also continue to invest in the latest high-tech research methods. Innovative bioinformatics and biotechnology techniques allow us to perform a complete analysis of sugarbeet DNA to carry out more targeted research. All the valuable information that we collect on DNA and phenotypes is put into models to predict performance. This predictive breeding and our increased use of data helps us make more accurate and data-driven selection decisions. Science and technology really go hand in hand at the UBIC.
Every single step in this process requires specialized knowledge and skills, for which we can count on our highly skilled and multidisciplinary teams. From our lab technicians to our breeders, data scientists and horticulturists and so on – it’s their innovation and dedication that drives the UBIC forward every day.
Next to our internal expertise, we can also rely on our large network of external scientific partners for support and collaboration. This is how we push sugarbeet research to new heights.
First-class technology and ecology go hand in hand
The Innovation Center is also a textbook example of ecologically responsible corporate practice. “The best way to demonstrate this is by means of some impressive figures”, says Rob van Tetering. “The Innovation Center collects more than 8 million litres of rainwater, which we can re-use to water our plants. We use LED lamps that are up to 400% more economical than traditional lamps. In addition, we take great care to minimize the environmental impact of our glasshouses. Our blackout screens keep light pollution to an absolute minimum.”
Confident about the future
SESVanderHave can optimize its research even further thanks to this high-tech complex. Van Tetering continues "The Innovation Center is critical to our company and the sugar industry. It boosts our capabilities, enabling us to bring new and better varieties to market more quickly: sugarbeet seeds that offer a higher yield and are more resistant to disease and less reliant on pesticides. The Innovation Center demonstrates that SESVanderHave believes in sugar beets.”