The effect of harvest date and storage on the sugar content of two varieties of fodder beet: A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Hons) in the University of Canterbury

Abstract

Two varieties of fodder beet (Mono Blanc and Yellow Daeno), grown on a Wakanui soil at Lincoln College as feedstock for fermentation studies, were sampled with the aim of studying the effect of harvest date and storage periods on the fermentable sugar content of the "roots'. At the start of the experiment, individual plants were selected for uniformity of size and randomly sampled at five harvest dates (early April to late July - early August, 1979) and after four storage periods (0, 4, 8 and 12 weeks) commencing in early May (1979). The dry matter contents of the "roots" was determined by drying to constant weight and sucrose, glucose and fructose contents were determined by g.l.c. analysis. The weight of' tops was also determined and sugar and weight losses during storage were calculated.