What is sugar beet: the full path from sowing the vegetable to the resulting sugar on our table

Sugar beets are not as popular among summer residents as table beets varieties. However, it is of enormous importance as a raw material for the industrial production of sugar. The advantage of this agricultural crop is the waste-free use of the entire plant, including tops, used as animal feed, organic fertilizer, etc.

Sugar beets and their beneficial properties

The historical ancestor of table, fodder and sugar beets is wild beet, common in India and the Far East. Of this triad, sugar is the “youngest” crop. Breeders developed it only at the beginning of the 19th century, although the German chemist Andreas Marggraf found out in the middle of the 18th century that sugars released from cane are also contained in beets.

Having adopted the secrets of processing beet juice, Russia established a sugar industry and became the world leader in the cultivation of sugar beets. In 2016, 51.4 million tons of crops were produced.

Composition and calorie content

Per 100 g of product: 45 kcal, 1.5 g protein, 0.1 g fat, 9.1 g carbohydrates. The vegetable also contains 2 g of fiber and 2.5 g of dietary fiber, 86 g of water and 1 g of ash.

Of particular importance is the high content of mono- and disaccharides: glucose, galactose, arabinose, fructose.

The chemical composition of sugar beets includes:

• vitamins A, E, PP, C, group B;
• macroelements: potassium, calcium, sodium, phosphorus;
• trace elements: iodine, iron, copper, manganese, zinc;
• bioflavonoids;
• pectin;
• betaine.

Thanks to these substances, the vegetable helps increase immunity, improve digestion and metabolism. Regulates the functioning of the heart and blood vessels, promoting the production of hemoglobin and lowering cholesterol levels. Increases the number of red blood cells.

Beets contain a large number of antioxidants, which means they prevent the development of cancer. High iodine content improves thyroid function in hypothyroidism. The use of the product is included in the prevention of rickets in children.

Harm and contraindications for use

Despite the rich chemical composition and a lot of useful properties, sugar beets have contraindications and are prohibited:

• for hypotension due to the ability to significantly lower blood pressure;
• for kidney disease, gout and rheumatoid arthritis (oxalic acid contained in beets promotes the formation of oxalate stones and sand);
• for chronic diarrhea, since the vegetable has a laxative effect;
• with increased acidity in the stomach, which can be aggravated by oxalic acid, and dietary fiber additionally irritates the mucous membrane.

First of all, the recommendations concern the use of raw root vegetables and juice from them, however, boiled beets should not be abused.

What does sugar beet look like and how is it different from fodder beet?

Sugar beet is a biennial plant of the amaranth family. In the first year, an elongated root crop with hard white pulp and a basal rosette of leaves are formed. In the second year, generative organs sprout.

The root system consists of a main rod and lateral roots extending from it, reaching 50 cm in width and up to 3 m in depth. The main root consists of a head with leaves, a root collar and a succulent root.

The green mass is rich: in one rosette there are up to 50-60 green, smooth leaves with tall cuttings.

The photo shows sugar beets.

Fodder beet differs from sugar beet:

• appearance (root vegetables can be of different shapes and colors);
• shorter vegetative cycle (the difference is 30 days);
• chemical composition (it contains more protein and less carbohydrates, including sugars).

Sugar beet growing areas in the Russian Federation and its importance

For cultivation in the vast expanses of Russia, the conditions of the Central Black Earth region (Kursk, Lipetsk, Tambov, Voronezh, Belgorod regions) are most suitable. It accounts for half of the vegetable sown area (167.7 thousand sq. km).

About 18% of sugar beet production is concentrated in the Krasnodar Territory (according to data from the expert and analytical center for agribusiness "AB-Center" for 2016).

Sugar beets are of great importance for industrial sugar production and also as livestock feed.

The advantage of the crop is that the vegetable is used completely, without waste:

• Alcohol, citric acid, glycerin, and yeast are produced from molasses;
• defecation is used as fertilizer for plants;
• The pulp serves as succulent food for animals, including cattle and pigs;
• the extracted ethanol, when mixed with gasoline and diesel, becomes a form of biofuel.

Growing technology

Sugar beets are demanding of heat, light and humidity. Does well in moderate sunny climates. Equally poorly tolerated by prolonged heavy rains and drought. The optimal temperature for germination is +20…25°С, for growth and sugar synthesis – +30°С.

Predecessors for beets in crop rotation

Sugar beets not grown as a monoculture. It is sown after winter wheat and rye, some root crops, such as onions, potatoes, and representatives of the legume family.

If sugar beets are often sown in the same field, pathogens of characteristic diseases accumulate in the soil and pests, primarily the beet nematode. Fodder and table beets, spinach, and cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, radishes, mustard, rapeseed) are also susceptible to it. The break in planting such crops should be from 3 to 7 years.

Preparing the soil for sowing

Sugar beets love well-drained, loamy, soddy-podzolic soils, as well as chernozems and peat bogs. It is especially demanding on soil acidity, the optimal pH is from 6.5 to 7% (slightly acidic, neutral).

Before sowing, the soil is enriched with organic and mineral complexes, it must be plowed and leveled. Root crops need good aeration and drainage, and large clods of soil and weeds can inhibit the development of root crops. A distance of at least 50 cm is left between the furrows so as not to crowd the roots and interfere with irrigation.

Reference. To prevent diseases, wood ash and boron are added to the soil. Ash reduces soil acidity, and boron is not readily available in soils with high pH levels.

Seed preparation

At seed factories, special processing processes are carried out that accelerate the emergence of seedlings and increase the productivity of sowing work:

1. Pelleting – covering the seeds with a protective nutrient coating from a mixture of neutralized peat, humus, adhesive (mullein or polyacrylamide), mineral and bacterial fertilizers and growth stimulants.
2. Enveloping protective and stimulating substances against pathogenic microorganisms.

On an industrial scale, mechanized seeders are used, and no additional seed preparation is performed. When growing beets for personal needs, the seed material is pre-soaked in warm water for 8-10 hours, for example, overnight.

Sowing technology

Sugar beets are sowed when the soil has warmed to at least +6°C. The culture is not afraid of light frosts, but for growth and development it requires a temperature of at least +20°C. For planting, choose a sunny area, since in the shade the beets grow into green mass, rather than root crops.

Seeds are planted in fertilized and moistened soil to a depth of 2 to 4 cm, a distance of 50 cm is maintained between rows. Under favorable conditions, seedlings appear on the 4-5th day.

Crop care

Sugar beets react poorly to stagnant waterTherefore, the drainage system and regular loosening of the soil are of particular importance. Watering on loose textured soils, do it twice a week, on heavy loamy soils – once a week. In order for root crops to accumulate the maximum amount of sugars, watering is stopped two weeks before harvest.

Weeds interfere with the normal growth of plants - they compete with industrial crops for nutrients in the soil and sunlight. For good yield, hand weeding and inter-row harrowing are necessary.

As feeding They use complex fertilizers: “Nitrophoska”, “Nitroammofoska”, “Ammophos”, “Diammonium phosphate”.

Depending on the type of soil, microfertilizers may be required:

• copper-containing – on soddy-podzolic soils;
• manganese, cobalt and molybdenum - on leached black soil.

Protection from pests and diseases

Dangerous for sugar beets:

1. Corneater - fungal disease.It affects mainly young plants (before the formation of the second pair of leaves), resulting in rotting of the roots.
2. Downy mildew (downy mildew). It is of fungal origin and affects above-ground organs, on which a gray-violet coating forms.
3. Cercospora – ashen-colored spots with a red-brown border, caused by the development of a fungus. Promotes the accumulation of harmful nitrogen in fruits.
4. Fomoz (zonal spotting). It appears in the form of yellow or light brown spots with concentric zones; black dots appear inside over time - accumulations of fungal spores.
5. Ascochyta blight - bluish-green, gradually turning brown round spots.
6. Rhizoctoniosis (red rot). Affects roots. It looks like depressed spots covered with dark purple mycelium. Leads to the destruction of the crop.
7. Fusarium rot. It begins with blackening of the roots, and in the underground part there is excessive development of lateral roots and tissue necrosis inside the root crop.
8. Dry sclerotiosis – dry spots and longitudinal cracks on the fruit.
9. Scab – scab-like crusts or cracks that gradually develop into corky tissue.

To combat diseases they use:

• biological methods: stubble peeling, deep plowing, weed removal, attracting beneficial organisms such as ladybugs, etc.;
• chemicals – fungicides and pesticides.

Harvesting and storage

It takes 110-140 days for sugar beets to ripen.

Signs of ripeness are:

• yellow leaves;
• exposure of the upper part of the root crop.

Harvesting is possible manually or using special equipment.

Store root vegetables in a cool, well-ventilated room, protected from direct sunlight.

Technology for processing sugar beets into sugar

The process includes the following steps:

1. Impurities that interfere with the operation of beet threshing machines and impair the quality of the product are separated from the beets. For this purpose, special traps are installed on the hydraulic conveyor.
2. In a beet washer, root crops are cleaned of adhering soil and other contaminants.
3. The beets are ground into shavings to extract the sugars faster and more efficiently.
4. The chips are placed in water heated to 70°C, and due to diffusion, the sugar turns into liquid.
5. The resulting syrup (raw juice) contains 1-2% non-sugar impurities and only 13-15% sugar itself. Therefore, it must first be cleaned with lime milk - the so-called pre-defecation; then the juice is treated with carbonated gas - the process of saturation occurs. The purified juice thickens and changes color from black to pale yellow.
6. As an intermediate step, filtration and decolorization with sulfur dioxide (sulfitation) are carried out.
7. To get rid of excess moisture, the syrup is subjected to thermal evaporation. After that, it contains about 70% sugar.
8. In vacuum devices, sugar crystallizes. The result is a massecuite - a mixture of sugar crystals and sugar solution (in a 1:1 ratio).
9. In a rotating centrifuge, the massecuite breaks down into white sugar crystals and brown syrup - runoff. The outflow can be boiled down again in vacuum bags and then driven through a centrifuge. The crystals are dried and granulated sugar is obtained.

Sugar production has by-products that are successfully used in other areas:

• desugared pulp (beet pulp) is used in the manufacture of animal feed;
• filter cake becomes fertilizer;
• The molasses remaining after the massecuite is run through centrifuges is used in the production of yeast and alcohol.

Reference. In addition to crushed sugar, it is possible to produce seeded (with crystals of a certain size), liquid, invert (resistant to crystallization) sugar, golden and amber syrups, molasses, and with the addition of cane molasses - brown sugar.

Other uses of sugar beets

Chopped beets can be used as a natural sweetener for porridges, compotes and other dishes, in the production of alcoholic beverages and as a pet food.

Moonshine

Due to the high sugar content, beet syrup is actively fermented when yeast is added.

In the classic recipe for making mash you need:

• 5 kg of sugar beets;
• 10 liters of water;
• 50 g dry yeast.

Using double distillation in a moonshine machine, the mash is filtered to absolute alcohol and then diluted with water to the desired strength.

Reference. In Ukraine the drink is called “buryachikha”, and in Russian villages it is called “kosorylovka”. It has a pungent odor, quickly intoxicates and causes a severe hangover.

Can it be given to rabbits and other animals?

It is beneficial to use sugar beets as a forage crop. Firstly, it has great nutritional value and a number of beneficial properties; the carbohydrates it contains are easily digestible. Secondly, not only root crops are used, but also the tops of the plant.

Beet fruits are given to animals fresh and dried or as part of silage. The most nutritious is considered to be silage made from sugar beets, boiled potatoes and green legumes. Beet pulp, a by-product of sugar production, is added to the feed of cattle and pigs.

Rabbits are introduced to sugar beets gradually to avoid unwanted reactions from the gastrointestinal tract. Acquaintance with the root vegetable begins at the age of a month.

The daily norm is only 50 g, but it is divided into two meals. Rabbits from 2 to 3 months are given 100 g of sugar beets per day, from 3 to 4 months - 150 g. Adults can eat up to 500 g of the vegetable without harm to health, but a single dose should not exceed 150-200 g.

It is better to feed beet tops dried or add them to silage.

Reference. Sugar beets have a beneficial effect on the condition of animal fur, making their meat especially tasty and nutritious.

Dependence of yield and productivity on variety

The global average yield of sugar beet is 34.3 t/ha; in Russia, an average of 17.8 t of root crops are harvested per hectare. The highest yield is observed in the Central Black Earth region - up to 30 t/ha, but this is significantly less than in countries with high agricultural standards, where about 50-60 t/ha are harvested.

The efforts of breeders are aimed at improving such qualities of the vegetable as:

• yield, which does not always correlate with sugar content;
• sugar yield (today this figure reaches more than 20%);
• resistance to diseases and pests.

Varieties are conventionally divided into three categories:

• productive (high productivity against the background of low sugar content of root crops - 16.5%);
• fruitful and sugary (with sugar content up to 18.5% and average yield);
• sugary (have the lowest yield, but the sucrose content reaches 21.5%).

Conclusion

Sugar beets can be grown not only on an industrial scale for sugar production, but also on a personal plot.The choice of the crop is justified due to its high productivity and wide range of uses: as animal feed, as a natural sweetener in dishes and raw materials for the production of homemade alcohol.