Another Day
08:15 AM
Going over today’s schedule. It changes with the season. Today: flowering checks in the greenhouse.
08:58 AM
Observe, record, repeat. Today’s key observations: male or female flowering and pollen production.
10:32 AM
Out into the field. Behind every beet is a long list of traits waiting to be selected.
11:42 AM
Labelling the rows so we know exactly which variety is growing where.
11:59 AM
Wipe your boots, it’s lunchtime. No fancy beet salad today, just a sandwich with hummus.
12:47 PM
Determining the Thousand Seed Weight (TSW). This allows us to calculate exactly how much seed is available for a trial.
13:44 PM
No weighing seeds this time, but counting them. A trial needs exactly 200 seeds. This machine counts them one by one with incredible precision.
14:45 PM
Recording crosses, preparing trials and making sure everything is ready for the next step in the breeding cycle.
15:54 PM
Monitoring whether the cold simulation actually stops the beet plants from growing.
16:52 PM
That’s a wrap for today. Tomorrow, it’s off to Spain to evaluate the local beet trials.
Brigitte ReusAssistent breeder BeetrootBetween the greenhouse and the trial fields.
From assessing flowering plants and seed lots to making selections in trial fields, Brigitte supports every step needed to develop new beet varieties. As an Assistant Breeder, no two days are the same, and the impact of her work is sometimes only visible months later.