It seems that anyone who is computer literate uses OpenFOAM on a Linux system. I’m not that advanced. I’m just proud (read: living in ignorance about the challenge ahead) of myself for choosing OpenFOAM as the program I’ll use in my analysis. This is my experience/ tips for getting started with the program on Windows.…
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If intercropping is to break down the door in the world of sugar beets, a system that doesn’t result in yield losses is needed. Intercropping can help with controlling pest and weeds, and even in providing nutrients, but in a world that that been so successful in increasing yields, and so successful in controlling weeds…
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I’ve had a few discussions around the topic of breeding for storage, with breeders, industry, and farmers alike. The consensus is that, while it’s a nice idea and that it would be possible, it’s not been economical. It’s a nice bonus if a variety stores well, but it’s not the primary aim of any breeding…
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As part of the CFD course I’ve just been through, we had a group assignment. My team was kind enough to adopt the beet ventilation system we at NBR are developming to be the focus of our work. Here is the report (it’s pretty technical and unfortunately not highly conclusive): I hope we’ll get to…
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Drying out sugar beets isn’t usually a practice undertaken in their production – at least, not intentionally – and we’re not looking to change this – intentionally. The topic has come up after it became clear in one of my other projects that ventilation isn’t just good for cooling beets, it has the ability to…
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COBRI is the COordination Beet Research International. How International? There are four institutes, representing five sugar beet growing nations: IRS from the Netherlands, IRBAB from Belgium, IfZ from Germany, and, of course, NBR from Sweden and Denmark. These institutes work together through the collaboration on projects that have agro-ecological/ management/ policy/ etc relevance in the…
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Yes, I do amuse myself… But seriously, this has been a fun set of experiments. Damage to sugar beets during harvest and transport can be very costly in terms of sugar loss during storage. This general idea is something that seems to be pretty well understood. The depth of knowledge on the different conditions that…
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If there is one thing that I hope to know more about than anyone else in the world at the end of my PhD, it is how air moves through sugar beet clamps, and how this air movement impacts the quality of the beets over time. To this end, one of the major research trials…
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In May this year (2019), the IIRB Beet Quality and Storage study group had their latest meeting. The first speaker was from KWS in Germany – Elka Hilscher – and talked about the distribution of the good and the bad within sugar beets. I’ve written a summary of this work for Betordlaren (coming soon). If…
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As far as I know, I’m the only Australian working with sugar beets in Europe. I’d be surprised if this actually was that case, but, for now, it’s a good story. What I do know is that I’m not the only Australian working with sugar beets globally. For one, there is at least one Australian…
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