Reducing sucrose loss in sugarbeet storage

Controlling sucrose loss in sugarbeet storage has been an industry goal since the 1950s. Sugarbeet roots utilize sucrose for energy to maintain themselves. Dessication from wind and sun or too much rain and microbial activity can negatively influence stored roots, increasing respiration and the buildup of impurities. Factors such as scalping, impacts and wounding during harvest and transport, mud and weeds in piles, and unusually high and low temperature can also lead to sucrose loss. Disease and drought stress during production can also predispose roots to sucrose loss in storage. In particular, rhizomania caused by Beet necrotic yellow vein virus has been shown to compromise the storability of roots allowing for significant sucrose losses in storage by early December. Sucrose losses over 90 percent have been documented in long-term storage (142 days) with cultivars that lack storability. Thus, developing a cultivar selection program for storage could be of considerable benefit to the sugarbeet industry