Tinien, Belgium
January 23, 2026
United Beet Seeds (UBS) is actively advancing the way modern field trials are designed and executed. Together with our specialist partner Permarobotics, we are developing the UBS-BOT: an autonomous field robot developed for future use across our trial operations.
This project is not about technology for its own sake, but about its potential value for the future of agriculture and plant breeding. Autonomous systems such as the UBS-BOT open up new opportunities to conduct field trials more efficiently, precisely and objectively, while capturing valuable data directly in the field, where performance is ultimately proven.
The UBS-BOT is currently in its testing phase and is being progressively developed for different applications in experimental field work. In the long term, we see significant potential to support workflows, reduce manual tasks and further improve the quality and reliability of field trial results.
With this initiative, UBS reinforces its commitment to empowering the industry with innovative solutions. Our goal is not only to adopt emerging technologies, but to be a driving force behind a forward-looking, sustainable, and high-performance agricultural sector. The UBS-BOT is another meaningful step on that journey, reflecting our efforts to actively shape the future of the sugar beet industry.
Want to know more about field trials?
Field trials are a critical step in our research process. After breeding, new hybrids are tested in trial plots across the main sugar beet growing areas and repeated over multiple years, so we can confidently select the best performers under local production and climate conditions.
Throughout the season, our technical field experts work closely with our breeders to monitor emergence, pest and disease tolerance, bolting tolerance, and other key plant characteristics. At harvest, we use dedicated research harvesters to measure root yield, sugar concentration and purity, turning field results into robust data for selection decisions.
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