Cultivation of Sugar Beet ll Biofuel Plant ll Sugar beet Cultivation

SUGAR BEET

Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris Var. Saccharifera L.) is a biennial sugar producing tuber crop, grown in temperate countries. Now, tropical sugar beet varieties are gaining momentum in tropical and sub tropical countries including Tamil Nadu as a promising alternative energy crop for the production of ethanol. The ethanol can be blended with petrol or diesel to the extent of 10% and used as bio-fuel. The byproducts of sugar beet viz., beet top can be used as green fodder, while pulp and filter cake from industry can be used as cattle feed. Sugar beet has now emerged as commercial field crop because of the favourable characters like
(i) tropical sugarbeet varieties suitable for Tamil Nadu
(ii) shorter duration of 5–6 months
(iii) moderate water requirement of 80–100 cm
(iv) higher sugar content of 12–15%

Variety and duration: The tropical sugar beet varieties like Pasoda, H1 0064 and Doratea etc., are suitable for cultivation in Tamil Nadu. The duration of these tropical varieties will be 5–6 months depending on variety and climatic conditions prevailing during crop growth period.

Climate and soil: Tropical sugar beet requires good sunshine during its growth period. Sugar beet can be grown during October-March with a well-distributed rainfall of 300–350 mm across the growing period. This condition favours vegetative growth and acts as a base for tuber enlargement. However, high soil moisture or continuous heavy rain may affect development of tuber and synthesis of sugar. The sugar beet crop requires an optimum temperature range of 20–25°C for germination, 30–35°C for growth and development and 25–35°C for sugar accumulation. All kinds of well drained deep soil (45 cm) with stable and porous soil structure and sandy loam to clayey loam texture are suitable. Optimum pH range is 6.5–8.0 but, it can also grow in saline and alkaline soil. The soils with good organic matter status are more favourable for sugar beet.

Season: Sugar beet is a cold weather crop season (rabi). Hence, sugar beet is sown from October to November and harvested during April–May.

Field preparation: Sugar beet being a root crop requires deep ploughing (45 cm) followed by 2–3 ploughings to obtain a good soil tilth condition for favourable seed germination and tuber development. After proper leveling to ensure adequate drainage, ridges and furrows are formed at 50 cm apart.

Seeds and sowing: To maintain the required plant population of 40,000/- acre, use 2 pockets designer seeds. One pocket contains 20,000 seeds weighing 600 g. The recommended spacing is 50 × 20 cm. The designer seed is dippled at 2 cm depth on the top of the ridges at 20 cm apart at one seed per hole.

Weeding and earthing up: The crops should be maintained weed free upto 75 days. Pendimethalin at 1.5 l/acre is dissolved in 300 l of water and sprayed with hand operated sprayer on 3rd day after sowing, followed by hand weeding on 25 and 50 DAS. The earthing up operation coincides with top dressing of N fertilizer.

Irrigation: Sugar beet is very sensitive to water stagnation at all stages of its growth. Irrigation should be based on soil type and climatic conditions. Pre-sowing irrigation is essential at the time of sowing. First irrigation is very crucial for the early establishment of the crop. For light textured sandy loam soil, irrigation once in 5–7 days and for heavy textured clay loam soil, irrigation once in 8–10 days is recommended. Light and frequent irrigation is recommended for maintaining optimum soil moisture. The irrigation may be stopped at least 2–3 weeks before harvest. At the time of harvest, if the soil is too dry and hard, it is necessary to give pre harvest irrigation for easy harvest.

Pest and diseases: The major insect pests are aphids, tobacco caterpillar and diamond back moth. To control aphids, spray neem oil 3% or dimethoate 2 ml/l with teepol. For tobacco caterpillar, spray endosulfon 2 ml/l or carbaryl 2g/l of water. The major insect pests that affect the sugar beet crop are rhizoctonia wilt, powdery mildew, cercospora leaf spot, and fusarium yellow. To control rhizoctonia wilt, spot drenching with Bordeaux mixture 1% and for fusarium wilt, drenching the soil with carbendazim @ 0.1%. To control powdery mildew, spraying of wettable powder 0.3% and for cercospora leaf spot, application of mancozeb 0.25% on 10–14 days schedule.

Harvest, yield and economics: The sugar beet matures in about 5–6 months. The yellowing of lower leaf whirls of matured plant and tuber brix reading of 15–18% indicate the maturity of tuber for harvest. The harvested tuber should be handled as gently as possible to remove soil and trash to minimize the beet breakage and bruising to get quality beet tuber. The average yield of beet tuber is 30-35 t/acre. Total cost of cultivation per acre is around Rs. 8,000–8,500 and the income will be Rs.18,000/- acre with a net income of Rs. 10,000/- acre.

suger beet cultivation