Large amounts of pollen are produced which can travel long distances. Hybridisation within the section Beta may give fertile offspring but is unlikely with other members of the Chenopodiaceae family. Annual weed beet is found in wild populations. The normally biennial cultivated beet may become vernalised by cold weather which induces bolting and the reproductive phase within season. The best cultural practice to prevent outcrossing is to prevent flowering of the herbicide tolerant fodder beet in the same way that unmodified cultivars are grown.
Fodder beet is harvested before the natural onset of the reproductive phase.
For seed production there are clear seed certification rules prescribing minimum distances to foreign pollen sources of the genus Beta . Beet is sensitive to tillage and most broad-leaved herbicides commonly used in rotational crops. Bolting plants should also be removed by standard agricultural practice before pollen release. Roundup Ready beet is as susceptible as non-modified beet to predation by insects, nematodes and mammals. Safety to mammals has been established by a toxicity study.