Sugar Beet Root Storage Properties Are Unaffected by Cercospora Leaf Spot

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Plant Pathology
• Food Science

Background:

• Cercospora leaf spot (CLS), caused by *Cercospora beticola*, is a common sugar beet disease.
• Current management practices do not fully control CLS, leading to infected roots entering storage.
• The impact of CLS on sugar beet root storage quality is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of CLS on sugar beet root storage properties.
• To determine if CLS severity influences respiration rate, sucrose loss, invert sugar accumulation, and recoverable sucrose yield during storage.
• To assess the impact of storage duration on these CLS-related effects.

Main Methods:

• Sugar beet roots from plants with varying CLS severity (four levels) were collected over three years.
• Roots were stored under controlled conditions (5°C, 95% RH) for up to 120 days.
• Storage characteristics were evaluated at 30, 90, and 120 days, measuring respiration, sucrose loss, invert sugars, and molasses sugar loss.

Main Results:

• No significant or consistent effects of CLS on root respiration rate were observed.
• CLS did not significantly impact sucrose loss or invert sugar accumulation during storage.
• No discernible effect of CLS severity or storage duration on recoverable sucrose yield or molasses sugar loss was detected.

Conclusions:

• CLS does not appear to accelerate sugar beet storage losses.
• Sugar beet roots affected by CLS can be stored without additional or specialized precautions.
• The findings suggest that CLS management during the growing season may not need to consider post-harvest storage implications.