The weight and processing quality of components of the storage roots of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L)

Abstract

Studies in the 1970s showed that sugar beet partitioned into root, crown and scalp had large concentrations of impurities in the scalp, the root portion had the best processing quality and the crown was intermediate. Since then the processing quality of beet has improved. This paper reports similar studies on today's varieties, in an experiment at IACR‐Broom's Barn over the three years 1993–1995, and extended in 1996 to the most important soil types used for sugar beet production in England. The crown is now a smaller proportion of the total beet weight (70 compared to 130 g kg−1) but the distribution of the concentrations of the quality parameters (sugar and the impurities potassium, sodium, amino nitrogen, raffinose, betaine and invert sugars) between the beet portions has not changed. This distribution was not significantly affected by year, variety or beet size but was affected by soil type. Nitrogen‐rich soils produced beet with heavier crowns and a smaller differential in impurity concentration between the root and the crown. The scalp material had a variable sugar concentration, but it always contained large concentrations of impurities, especially invert sugar. The equation of Pollach et al (Zucker industrie 116: 689–700 (1991)) which includes invert sugar as a variable, was applied to the data. It indicated that including all the crowns in the factory process with the roots would increase white sugar yield by approximately 6%. The increase due to inclusion of the scalp was much smaller (2%), and would probably be expensive to achieve. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry

Root Quality of Sugarbeet

“…In the crown, the concentration of sugar is smaller, whereas the concentration of the marc and soluble non-sugars increases tremendously (Winner and Feyerabend 1970;Jaggard et al 1999;Mahn and Hoffmann 2001;Mahn et al 2002). Therefore, it was recommended that beet at harvest should be topped below the level of the lowest leaf scars and to remove the crown and all green leaf material.…”

Analysis of the influence of environmental variables on carbon content of sugar beet crop and estimation of nitrogen content in leaves by vegetation indices

“…Ya en épocas más recientes, el cultivo de remolacha ha sufrido importantes cambios en las últimas décadas, como la mejora de las variedades (Jaggard et al, 1999) y mejores prácticas de cultivo: siembra precoz, mayor densidad de plantación, uso más eficiente de fertilizantes, control de plagas y enfermedades, etc. (Milford et al, 1999).…”

“…En cuanto a la composición de la raíz de la remolacha, los factores que pueden influenciarla también se han investigado, porque es un factor crítico para la calidad industrial de la raíz y particularmente para el proceso de extracción del azúcar (Jaggard et al, 1999, Giaquinta, 1979y Hoffmann, 2005. La composición de la raíz de la remolacha en cosecha es: 77% agua y 23% materia seca, con 70-76% de sacarosa, 18% de marco y 6% de otras sustancias como betaína .…”

“…Sugar beet crops have undergone important changes in the last decades, such as improved varieties (Jaggard et al, 1999) and better cultural practices: earlier sowing, higher planting densities, more efficient use of fertilizers, control of pests and diseases, etc. (Milford et al, 1999).…”

“…As for the composition of the beet root, the factors that may influence it have also been investigated, because it is a critical factor for the industrial quality of the root and in particular for the sugar extraction process (Jaggard et al, 1999, Giaquinta, 1979. The composition of the beet root at harvest is: 77% water and 23% dry matter, with 70-76% of sucrose, 18% of marc and 6% of other substances such as betaine .…”