The case of sugar beet in Europe: a review of the challenges for a traditional food crop on the verge of climate change and circular agriculture

Sugar beet ( Beta vulgaris L.) accounts for about 20% of the world's sugar production, half of which (17 million metric tonnes) is produced in the European Union, whose temperate climate suits the crop's cultivation requirements. Besides the traditional food component sucrose, added value comes from the byproducts of sugar extraction (pulp, molasse, carbonation lime) and possibly the crop's aboveground parts. Sucrose as a biobased industrial feedstock may help replace fossil carbon for non-food applications. To promote such use, yields should go up. Sugar beet yield has increased over time despite the presence of many pests/pathogens during growth and harvest. Careful crop rotation is vital for high land-use efficiency. Climate change will present a mix of potentially positive ( e.g., extended growing season) and negative ( e.g., new pests) effects. The latter are likely to outweigh the former. Changing weather conditions may affect yield, and extreme environmental conditions, such as flooding or drought, can threaten the yield and attractiveness of European sugar beet cultivation. New farming practices (precision agriculture) and improved plant materials are key. Sugar beet has attractive wild germplasm and is amenable to genetic and genome engineering, assuming timely and appropriate regulations and market acceptance. Biotech breeding may speed up the necessary trait modifications. Higher yields may depend on the sink-source relationships in sugar beet. We present strategies and possibilities in the context of the challenges of sugar beet management and breeding for resilience, provided the concept of resilience is well operationalized regarding variable environments, field testing, and future cultivar registration. • Sugar beet cultivation contributes to Europe’s sugar self-sufficiency • Sugar beet’s sugar is both a food component and an industrial feedstock • Sugar beet offers more value than sucrose in circular agriculture/biorefinery • Improving sugar beet yield requires innovation in breeding and cultivation • Focus on resilience combats the various challenges of future climate change