Sugar beet is a type of common root beet, but has the highest productivity, since each tuber of the plant contains a large amount of sucrose. Due to this, the culture is technical and is mainly grown for the production of sugar, and less often - animal feed.
Appearance story
In 1747, the German chemist Andreas Marggraf was able to establish that beets also include sugar, which was previously extracted only from sugar cane. Breeders managed to apply this knowledge dozens of years later, when his pupil Franz Karl Ahard in 1801 equipped the first beet sugar plant in Lower Silesia (the territory of modern Poland).
Since then, a group of breeders has been actively working to develop new beet varieties with a high sugar content. As a result of numerous studies, in less than two centuries, scientists were able to increase the sugar level in various beet varieties from 1.3% to 20%.
Description of characteristics
Sugar beets are represented by various varieties and hybrids, but they are all united by common characteristics, which can be found in the table below:
Criterion | Description |
Type of plant | Sugar beet is a two-year-old root plant. For the first year of growth, it forms a fleshy root crop of elongated shape with solid white pulp and a rosette of basal leaves. |
Sugar content of root crops | More than 16% or 69-72% by weight of solids. |
Cell juice purity | The crude plant is 87-89%, and the purified plant - 92-93%. |
Sugar yield | It reaches up to 0.8 t / ha. |
Seeding time | Carry out sowing work in the 2-3 days of April. |
Harvest time | Collect root crops in the 1-2 days of October. |
Plant density | It makes 80-100 thousand units / ha. |
Growing conditions | Sugar beets love heat, moisture and light, therefore its richest harvests are observed in irrigated areas in the chernozem zone. So, one of the world leaders in its cultivation are countries such as Ukraine, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Belarus. It is also cultivated in many countries of the European Union, Central and North America. |
Sugar Beet Composition
Sugar beet is a healthy product that is rich in vitamins and minerals. Its calorie content per 100 g is small - about 39.9-45 kcal, of which:
- proteins - 1.5 g;
- fats - 0.1 g;
- carbohydrates - 8.8 g;
- fiber - 2 g;
- dietary fiber - 2.5 g;
- water - 86 g;
- ash - 1 g.
The energy ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates is 13%: 2%: 80%, respectively.
It should be noted that of the digestible carbohydrates, sugar beet contains only mono- and disaccharides (8.7 g per 100 g of product). In root crops, the dry matter mass is 25%, and sucrose - 20%. Among other carbohydrates, beets include glucose, fructose, galactose and arabinose.
Sugar beets are rich not only in sugar, but also in vitamins, macro- and microelements, as can be seen from the following table:
Substance | Concentration per 100 g of product |
Vitamins | |
A (retinol, beta-carotene) | 0.01 mg |
B1 (thiamine) | 0.02 mg |
B2 (riboflavin) | 0.04 mg |
B3 (nicotinic acid) | 0.1 mg |
B6 (pyridoxine) | 0.06 mg |
B9 (folic acid) | 13 mcg |
C (ascorbic acid) | 10 mg |
E (tocopherol) | 0.1 mg |
PP (nicotinic acid) | 0.2 mg |
Macronutrients | |
Potassium | 288 mg |
Calcium | 37 mg |
Sodium | 46 mg |
Phosphorus | 43 mg |
Trace elements | |
Iron | 1.4 mg |
Iodine | 7 mg |
Cobalt | 2 mcg |
Manganese | 660 mcg |
Copper | 140 mcg |
Zinc | 450 mcg |
Beneficial features
Sugar beets and products made from it have the following beneficial properties:
- lower cholesterol and increase hemoglobin level, and also strengthen blood vessels, generally improving the cardiovascular system (due to this, white beets are recommended for use in atherosclerosis and hypertension);
- increase the number of red blood cells, therefore, support the condition for blood diseases, including anemia and leukemia;
- help prevent cancer, because they contain a large amount of natural antioxidants;
- cleanse the body of toxins and toxins, normalize metabolism (due to this, with food poisoning, you can treat with freshly prepared broth using the tops of the plant);
- improve the thyroid gland with hypothyroidism due to the iodine content, which also helps to lose weight and reduce drowsiness;
- strengthen immunity and accelerate recovery from colds, as it nourishes the body with vitamins and other useful elements;
- have a rejuvenating effect, nourish, moisturize and whiten the skin, due to which they are used in cosmetology.
Harm and contraindications
Despite all the benefits, sugar beets can be harmful if consumed in large quantities for indications such as:
- hypotension - beets contribute to lowering blood pressure;
- urinary and kidney stone disease, gout, rheumatoid arthritis - beets contain oxalic acid, which promotes the formation of salts, from which oxalate stones are then formed;
- chronic diarrhea - beets are a laxative product, therefore, can cause diarrhea, which is extremely harmful for people suffering from this disease;
- gastritis with high acidity, acute gastrointestinal tract diseases, for example, a stomach ulcer or duodenal ulcer - beets increase acidity, which irritates the mucous membrane and can aggravate the course of these diseases.
In addition, due to the content of large amounts of sucrose, white beets are strictly contraindicated in any degree of obesity and diabetes.
Application
Sugar beet belongs to the industrial culture and is used to produce sugar and ethanol - gasoline, which can replace diesel fuel. It is noteworthy that this plant is processed without any waste, since its residues are no less useful than sugar:
- syrup - used in the production of citric acid, alcohol, glycerin, yeast and organic acids;
- bagasse - used as nutritious and succulent feed for pigs and cattle;
- defecate - It is used as a good lime fertilizer.
Table beets are mainly used for food, not sugar or fodder. Meanwhile, sometimes root crops with a high sucrose content are crushed and used as a substitute for granulated sugar. They are also suitable for making preserves, syrups and compotes. From sugar beets, you can also get excellent liquor, tinctures and moonshine, due to the content in it of a large amount of standard.
The peel of sugar beets has an unpleasant taste, so before eating it must be thoroughly peeled off, and the root crop should be soaked in cold water for 5-7 minutes.
What is the difference between sugar beet and fodder?
To accurately identify the features of sugar beets, you should take into account its differences from the forage crop:
- contains significantly more sucrose - up to 20% in the dry state versus 5-6% in fodder beets;
- has an elongated shape, and not cylindrical, round or oval as a stern;
- possesses white color of pulp and skin, while fodder beets are red, pink and even orange;
- It is used mainly for the production of sugar, and less commonly - feed, but fodder beets are used mainly for livestock feed.
It should be noted that when ripening sugar beets only tops stick out of the ground, but fodder beets, on the contrary, stick out strongly.
Grade selection
All varieties and hybrids of sugar beets belong to the same species, have a white color of pulp and peel, but according to economic qualities and sugar content are divided into 3 main groups:
- fruitful - have an average and low sugar content in root crops (17.9-18.3%);
- fruit-sugar - differ in average sugar content in root crops (8.5-18.7%) and high productivity;
- sugar - contain the maximum amount of sugar in root crops (18.7-19%), however, their productivity is somewhat underestimated in comparison with other groups.
In beet-growing farms, the area of which starts from 150 ha, it is recommended to plant at least three varieties of sugar beets at the same time:
- Z / NZ type hybrids for early harvesting. Their optimal share in the structure of crops is about 40%.
- Universal Z / NZ / N-type hybrids for harvesting at the optimum time and laying it for storage. The proportion of such hybrids should not be less than 55%.
- NE-type hybrids for late harvest harvest. Their recommended share is not more than 5% of the total sown area.
To prevent the development of beet tserkosporosis, hybrids that are tolerant or resistant to this disease are best planted at 25-35% of the sown area.
When choosing a variety, the following recommendations should also be considered:
- If the intensive technology for the cultivation of sugar beets is only being mastered, for sowing, one should choose varieties bred by breeding of the experimental station. These include the Belarusian single-seed 69 and the hybrid Nesvizh 2. Their productivity can reach up to 40-45 t / ha.
- If the intensive cultivation technology has already been mastered, it is possible to choose highly productive hybrids jointly with Western European companies. Among them, Beldan, Danibel, Manege and Cavebel are popular.
- If you plan to harvest an early harvest (September 3), you should choose sugar-type hybrids such as Sylvanas, Vegas, Rubin, Kassandra and Beldan. It is worth considering that their optimal share in the structure of beet crops should be about 25-35%.
Experienced gardeners note that from an economic point of view, hybrids with a high sugar content in root crops are the most beneficial for cultivation: the recovery coefficient is more than 87.5%, the low specific consumption of root crops is 6.0-6.2 tons per 1 ton of sugar, yield refined sugar - 10.4-12.0 t / ha.
Suitable growing conditions
To get a good crop of large root crops, initially it is necessary to select a site with soil acceptable for sugar beets. The most suitable options are medium and well-cultivated sod, sod-carbonate or sod-podzolic soils, which can be loamy or sandy loam. It is desirable that they possess the following qualities:
- lined with moraine loam from a depth of 0.5 m;
- have high water retention capacity;
- have a neutral reaction (pH - 6.0-6.5);
- loose and well aerated;
- contain phosphorus and exchange potassium - not less than 150 mg per 1 kg of soil, boron - not less than 0.7 mg per 1 kg of soil, humus - not less than 1.8%.
It will not be possible to get a good crop of sugar root crops on too light, heavy, peat or waterlogged soils.
So that sugar beets can develop in full force, it is extremely important to plant it after the correct predecessors. So, you can not grow beets after crops such as:
- perennial legumes;
- cereal herbs;
- corn;
- linen;
- rape;
- cereals, if their cultivation used herbicides based on Chlorosulfuron or Metsulfuron-methyl.
Here are some suitable crop rotation schemes:
- busy steam - winter cereals - beets;
- peas for grain - winter cereals - beets;
- first year clover - winter cereals - beets.
Experienced gardeners believe that sugar beets are best grown after winter grains, before which legumes or clover of the first year grew on the site. However, you can also grow a crop after spring cereals, legumes and potatoes.
Beets can be returned to their original place of cultivation only after 3-4 years, otherwise the risk of damage by diseases, root beetles and other pests will significantly increase. In addition, it will be much more difficult to combat the clogging of crops with hardly eradicated weeds like shiritsa and chicken millet.
Tillage
The soil for beets is cultivated in two periods - in the fall, when the main work is carried out, and in the spring, when pre-sowing is carried out. Each stage is extremely important to get a good harvest, so they should be given special attention.
Autumn processing
There are two tillage technologies in the fall:
- Traditional. Not later than 3-5 days after harvesting, the soil is treated with special tools - scoops - to a shallow depth (8-10 cm). After stubble cultivation, in early September, dump plowing is carried out to a depth of 20-25 cm. It is impractical to increase it to 30 cm: in this case, beet productivity will not increase, and energy costs for soil cultivation will increase. Plowing itself is recommended to be carried out with reversible plows after applying potash and phosphorus fertilizers. In autumn, you also need to level the field using dump ridges and breakup grooves.
- Soilproof. Sludge loosening of the soil to a depth of 20-22 cm is carried out, with manure being previously sealed with a heavy disk harrow. When loosening, a layer of mulch is left on the surface of the soil. A similar technology is used mainly on sandy loam soils that are susceptible to wind or water erosion. In other cases, it is better to carry out traditional processing, since after it the clogging of crops does not increase and the need for the use of herbicides disappears.
Regardless of the technology used, green manure can be embedded in the soil. In this case, its preparation will look as follows:
- Loosen the topsoil in 2-3 traces and grind the green mass of green manure. To do this, it is advisable to use a disk tool, that is, to conduct stubble disking in 2-3 tracks.
- To make mineral fertilizers, except nitrogen, and to smell the soil.
- Perform pre-sowing treatment and direct sowing with combined seeders.
Landing in the soil of cruciferous green manure takes place during the budding period.
Spring processing
In spring, the land is cultivated in order to create a lumpy loose structure and achieve the following indicators:
- the content in the loosened layer of lumps up to 10 mm in size is not less than 85%;
- combing - up to 20 mm;
- soil density - from 1 to 1.3 g per cubic meter cm.
To achieve these goals, it is necessary to carry out pre-sowing to a depth of 2-4 cm with a combined unit (CABG), but not with a rotary harrow, cultivator and other tillage units.
When applying solid and boron fertilizers, as well as soil herbicides, the optimal processing depth on cohesive soils is 2-3 cm, and on the lungs 2-4 cm.
The video presented explains in detail which herbicides to use to grow sugar beets:
In spring, you cannot plow for sugar beets, as this will delay the sowing time and reduce the germination of seeds due to their deep seeding in the loose soil layer.
Fertilizer application
To get a full-fledged crop of root crops, it is necessary to properly feed the plant, both with organic and mineral fertilizers.
Organic fertilizer
Organic matter must be added under the previous culture or directly under sugar beets in the fall when plowing at the rate of 40-80 t / ha. The fact is that in spring it is forbidden to introduce fresh undecomposed manure into the soil, since this can provoke various diseases, including root eater, root rot and scab.
So, if necessary, manure can be replaced with shredded straw of various cereal precursors or green manure crops like oil radish, lupine or white mustard. Soil processed in this way guarantees uniform seedlings.
In what volumes to plow green mass into the soil depends on the yield of seed:
Productivity | Siderata Plowing Volumes |
350 c / ha | 30 t / ha |
300 c / ha | 25 t / ha |
250 c / ha | 20 t / ha |
200 c / ha | 17 t / ha |
150 c / ha | 13 t / ha |
100 c / ha | 9 t / ha |
To increase the yield of green mass, up to 90 kg / ha of nitrogen fertilizers should be applied under cruciferous crops, but it is not necessary to introduce them under lupine.
If straw is used as organics, it must be crushed into pieces up to 5 cm, evenly distributed over the plot and scented with green mass. If straw is used as the only organic fertilizer, to accelerate its decomposition by microorganisms, nitrogen should additionally be introduced into the soil at the rate of 8-10 kg / ha per 1 ton of straw.
Mineral fertilizers
Sugar beets are fed with various mineral fertilizers:
- phosphoric - ammoniated granular superphosphate, ammophos, liquid complex fertilizers (HCF);
- potash - potassium salt, potassium chloride, sylvinite;
- nitrogen - ammonium sulfate, urea, urea-ammonia mixture (UAN).
The fertilizer application rate depends on a number of factors - the dose of manure application, the content of available nutrients in the soil and the planned yield:
Fertilizers, kg / ha | The content of potassium and phosphorus oxides in the soil, mg / kg | Planned yield, kg / ha | ||
401-500 | 501-600 | 601-700 | ||
Nitrogen | – | 140-150 | 150 | 150 |
Phosphoric | 151-200 | 120-130 | 130-140 | 140-150 |
201-300 | 110-120 | 120-130 | 130-140 | |
301-400 | 90-100 | 100-110 | 110-120 | |
Potash | 151-200 | 180-270 | 270-300 | 300-340 |
201-300 | 160-250 | 250-290 | 290-320 | |
301-400 | 140-180 | 230-270 | 270-300 |
Soils of beet-growing areas are not able to fully compensate for the need for sugar beets in boron, so it will need to be applied using boric acid or superphosphate, borax, complex fertilizers. So, with a low boron content (less than 1 mg / kg of soil) it is recommended:
- In autumn, under plowing, together with glyphosate-containing herbicides, add boric acid (3 kg / ha) or borax (4 kg / ha).
- In the spring, add boric acid (2 kg / ha) together with CAS or soil herbicides to the pre-sowing cultivation.
During the growing season, foliar top dressing with boron is also recommended:
- The first is before closing the row spacing.
- The second - 25-30 days after the first.
- The third - a month before harvesting in the event of dry weather or re-reporting of soils.
At each feeding, 1-2 kg / ha of boric acid is required. For foliar top dressing, you can also use the composition of trace elements "Beet-1" and "Beet-2". They include:
- boric acid;
- manganese sulfate salts;
- copper;
- zinc;
- cobalt;
- ammonium molybdenum acid.
Under sugar beets, it is worth making large doses of potash fertilizers:
- Potassium salt, sylvinite or sodium chloride (technical salt) compensates for the need for sodium. Make at the rate of 100-150 kg / ha.
- Ammonium sulfate will saturate the soil with sulfur, if you add 0.3-0.4 kg / ha. For the same purposes, phosphogypsum can be used at a rate of 1-2 t / ha.
- Complex fertilizers will provide the optimum ratio of the mineral nutrition of beets. To add to the pre-sowing cultivation at the rate of 3-4 kg / ha or when sowing at the rate of 4-8 kg / ha (brings 6-7 cm to the side and 6-7 cm deeper than the seeds).
If it was not possible to saturate the soil with a full dose of nitrogen before sowing, then it will be necessary to feed the plant with nitrogen fertilizers. Their dose against 60-80 t / ha of organic fertilizers on fertile soils should be up to 120 kg / ha.
However, it should be noted that CAS cannot be introduced into pre-sowing treatment. If the dose of nitrogen is higher than 100 kg / ha, then CAS should be introduced 7-10 days before sowing together with boric acid. If the fertilizer is used for radical top dressing, it should be applied to a depth of 2-3 cm with a KMS-5.4-01 cultivator equipped with OD-650. The optimal time for work is when 1-4 pairs of true leaves appear.
Nitrogen fertilizers should not be overdone, since root crops tend to accumulate nitrogen in the form of nitrates.
If sugar beets are cultivated on soils with an acidity level (pH) of less than 6.0, then liming must be performed for the previous crop or directly for beets. For this purpose, dolomite flour (5 t / ha) or defecate (8 t / ha) can be used.
In this video, the specialist will tell you what fertilizers were used to grow sugar beets:
Preparing seeds for sowing
For sowing, it is necessary to select exclusively pelleted seeds of fractions of 3.75-4.75 mm, which include etchants of insecticidal and fungicidal effects. Their preparation for sowing is as follows:
- Carry out a rough cleaning of seeds from dust, small and large impurities so that they maintain the sowing qualities for a long time.
- Conduct the main cleaning of the seeds, removing various impurities, including stems.
- Sand the seeds and combine in accordance with their diameter - 3.5-4.5 and 4.5-5.5 mm.
- Directly before sowing, seed pelleting using nutrients like a mixture of humus and molasses. For 1 kg of seeds, you need to take 2 kg of humus, 300 g of molasses and 0.7 liters of water.
- After drazhirovanie seeds for a day soak in warm water (18-25 ° C), and after that use for sowing in the ground.
Such processing is carried out in an industrial environment using special equipment. If it is not possible to carry it out, then in specialized stores it is worth buying sugar beet seeds prepared in this way.
Sowing seeds
Landing work is carried out on a warm sunny day, when the soil warms up to + 5-6 ° C, and the air temperature reaches + 8 ° C. Between the pre-sowing preparation of the soil and the sowing itself, there should not be much time. Sowing of seeds is carried out in an optimally short time, taking into account the following parameters:
- Seeding rate. Depending on the soil and climatic conditions, 1.2-1.3 sowing units will be required per hectare of land.
- Seeding Depth. Depends on the type of soil: on sandy and light loamy soils, the seeds should be planted to a depth of 30-35 mm, on medium loamy soils - 25-30 mm, and on heavy soils with high humidity - 20-25 mm.
- Width between rows. For convenient organization of mechanized crop care, between the main rows it is worth leaving 45 cm, and between the butt rows - no more than 50 cm.
Sowing of seeds is carried out using mechanical or pneumatic precision seeders, aggregated with tractors of the type MTZ-80/82, MTZ-1221. Their working speed should be no more than 5 km / h. At the edges of the field, it is worth leaving headlands with a width of 24, 36 or 48 rows of beets.
The sowing unit should be moved along the track of the marker with the help of a visor, which can be installed on the tractor hood 100 mm to the right of the center line. Departure of the right marker should be 2875 mm, and the left - 3075 mm. The optimal track width of the tractor is 1800 mm. To make it easier to carry out work on the care of beet crops, it is better to use the tramline.
Seedling Care
After sowing, the process of cultivating sugar beets is as follows:
- For 4-5 days after sowing, pre-emergence harrowing of the soil, that is, loosening its surface with harrows or rotational hoes. Such an agrotechnical measure allows breaking the crust on the surface of the soil after rain, destroying weeds and increasing the moisture reserves in the ground.
- A few days after the appearance of the first true leaves, carry out a post-emergence harrowing. It is not recommended to cultivate the soil immediately after emergence, since in this case sprouts can be damaged.
- In case of excessive soil compaction in row-spacings, carry out a ball - shallow loosening of soil between rows with crops to a depth of 6-7 cm. For this purpose, a cultivator with one-sided razors is used, but you need to be careful not to damage the seedlings.
- With the advent of the first sprouts, to make bouquet or thinning of rows of sugar beets, leaving in each of them bouquets of 3-4 strong plants. The first bunching is carried out mechanically, and the next - manually.
- Provide the plant with timely plentiful watering - up to 25 cubic meters. m per 1 ha at the beginning of the growing season and up to 40 cubic meters. m during the period of enhanced development of tops. Starting in July, water the beets up to 3-4 times a month with a small amount of rainfall, and in September it is enough to water once before harvesting. So, from the second decade of September, watering is not necessary.
Particular attention in the care of seedlings should be given to their protection against potential threats:
- Weed. In the fight against them, use special herbicides containing glyphosate. Such drugs should be approved for use and listed in the register of plant protection products. However, it is worth considering that herbicides are not recommended for use during a long dry season.
- Rot of root crops and soil pests (wireworms, beet nematodes). Protection against such threats implies the correct choice of the site, predecessors, variety, method and quality of tillage. Additionally, root crops can be treated with biological products against rot (Beta Protect).
- Soil and leaf pests (fleas, frosted carrion, beet flies, aphids). To protect the crop from them, it is necessary to treat the seeds with insecticides before sowing.
With proper care for sowing, sugar beet harvesting can begin in mid or late September.
Harvesting and storage
Before harvesting the soil should be abundantly watered. If beets are grown in large areas, then harvesters will need to use harvesters for harvesting root crops, but if in small farmers or summer cottages, all work can be done manually. This must be done very carefully so as not to damage the root crops, otherwise their shelf life will be significantly reduced.
Dug out root crops must be dried in the open air and cleaned from the remains of the earth. Store in a dry place at low temperature - 0 ° C ... + 2ºС. If it is higher, then the sugar content of root crops will be reduced. If the room is high humidity, then the beets should be wrapped in parchment paper or shifted with sawdust. In this form, it can be stored until next season.
In small quantities, fruits can also be kept in the freezer, but before freezing, they should be washed, dried, grated or cut into thin bars, and then packaged in a plastic bag or container.
Beet tops can be used as an organic fertilizer for the next crop after beets. With a root crop yield of 400-500 kg / ha, the amount of tops to be scattered will be proportional to 25-30 tons / ha of manure.
Sugar beets are most often grown and cultivated on an industrial scale, but a good crop of root crops can also be obtained at summer cottages and small farms. The main thing is to pay due attention to the cultivation of soil and seeds, to the care of sowing. A healthy crop, if harvested correctly, can be stored until the next season.