This paper studies the sum throughput maximization of the return-link in multi-beam satellite systems. Considering bursty communication scenarios with different users' data request probabilities, we develop an efficient scheduling scheme using genetic algorithms (GAs). Moreover, we consider co-channel interference (CCI) and adjacent channel interference (ACI). We consider a receiver with and without interference cancelation. Using a simplified channel model, we evaluate the proposed scheduler in a multi-beam system. The proposed GA-based scheduler approaches the throughput of an optimal scheduler based on exhaustive search with substantially less implementation complexity.