Modern types of sugar beets are the fruit of the work of American breeders. In 1747, scientists from America found that white beets contain the same amount of sugar as sugar cane - 1.3%. Now technical hybrid varieties, bred by breeders specifically for sugar production, contain more than 20% of a natural substance. Despite the fact that this is a technical culture, people have adapted to use it for food, as a folk medicine, and as feed for livestock.
Characteristics of sugar beet
White sugar beet is a vegetable, a two-year-old root vegetable, a kind of common red. In the first year, it forms a large, oblong, dense, fleshy root crop and a powerful rosette of large leaves in the ground part.
This is the most important sugar crop that grows on a huge area of cultivated land. Sucrose levels range from 8-10 to 20% and directly depends on the climatic conditions of the growing region, agrotechnical conditions, since the culture requires a lot of heat, moisture, sunlight.
Especially a lot of solar heat is needed for a vegetable during the ripening period of the root crop - from August to the end of October... It is during this period that sugar accumulates in it.
Sugar beet is 100% productive. The waste left over from sugar production is processed, used in industry and is of great importance.
Production waste is used to obtain:
- pulp - waste in the form of beet cut, used as feed for cattle, pigs;
- syrup - used in the food industry for the production of yeast, citric acid, glycerin, organic acids and alcohol;
- defect (or defecation mud) - lime fertilizer for plants.
In addition, sugar vegetables are used to produce ethanolrequired in gasoline production technology.
Growth history
The production of sugar from beets began in the 19th century in central Europe (New Silesia), where the plant is located, and quickly spread. In the first half of the 19th century, beets began to be planted and grown in the territory of modern Russia and Ukraine.
The presence of fertile chernozem soils and warm climate defines the zones of cultivation of crops: Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, the black earth regions of southern Russia, as well as the countries of southern and central Europe.
For 2014, the leaders in the cultivation of crops and the production of sugar from it are:
- France - about 40 million tons;
- Russia - slightly over 30 million tons;
- Germany - 30 million tons;
- USA - 28.5 million tons;
- Ukraine - 16 million tons;
- Poland - 14 million tons.
In total, about 280 million tons of beets are grown in the world.
Food or livestock feed
Of course, first of all, this culture is technical, but root crops are good fodder base for pig and cattle breeding.
The foliage and rhizomes have almost the same nutritional value: 100 kg of beets contains 25 feed units (it is considered that 1 feed unit is equivalent to 1 kg of oats in nutritional value) and 1.2 kg of useful protein, and 100 kg of green foliage contains 22 feed units and 2.2 kg of protein ...
At the same time, by the time of harvest weight of leaves and roots approximately 1: 2... The proportion of foliage can be from 40 to 60% of the weight of the vegetable.
But besides this, sugar beets are often used in dietary nutrition and in traditional medicine... The plant has a rich vitamin and mineral composition: iodine, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, iron, calcium, vitamins B, PP, C, betadine, pectins.
This product helps to increase immunity, hemoglobin, has a beneficial effect on the work of the cardiovascular system, improves the functioning of the digestive system, removes toxic substances from the body.
Vegetable has contraindications for use in kidney disease, diabetes, obesity due to the high content of sucrose.
Features of cultivation and cultivation conditions in Russia
The cultivation and planting of sugar beets is a very laborious process that requires strict adherence to all terms and agrotechnical schemes.
Crop rotation and growing beet-friendly predecessors - legumes, winter cereals - are of great importance.
Sowing technology
The soil is plowed in autumn, to a depth of 30 cm, after applying a full range of fertilizers. In the spring, before sowing, the soil is harrowed, cultivated and leveled.
Sow seeds at air temperature 8-10 degrees Celsius to the depth 5 cm... 5 days after sowing, pre-emergence harrowing is carried out in order to destroy weeds, loosen the soil.
Seedlings appear already 8-10 days after sowing. The first loosening of the soil is carried out after the appearance of the first true leaves to a depth of 5-7 cm.
The next step - seedling thinning (bouquet). This is the most difficult, laborious, but important process, after which the strongest and strongest beets remain on the field.
The subsequent care of the crop consists in loosening the soil between the rows and abundant watering up to 4-5 times a month... Watering is stopped in the second half of September, 7-10 days before the start of the harvest.
Harvesting
Harvesting starts at different times in different regions, from around late September to mid-October.
Green leaves are not able to persist for a long time, so the harvested crop immediately sent to processing plants... There, the process of obtaining sugar from the rhizomes is started, and the tops are processed into feed.
It is obvious that the whole cycle of growing and processing vegetables is quite laborious and costly. Even though the productivity of this crop is 100%, it is quite difficult for producers to achieve good profitability from both crops and processing plants.
Nevertheless, sugar remains a highly demanded everyday food product, and its production is a completely justified and unconditional necessity.