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Limited water for irrigation and the coincidence of early growth of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) with the late growth of winter cereals in the Northeast (NE) of Iran, force farmers, to allocate their limited irrigation water to the cereal crops and thus their sugar beet crop is subjected to an early water stress. Finding cultivars which are able to withstand early water stress without a significant yield reduction is critical to the farmers’ economy. This study was conducted over a two-year period (1998 and 1999) to evaluate the response of nine sugar beet genotypes to drought stress and to determine the crop traits associated with drought resistance. The results showed that stomatal conductance, leaf-air temperature difference and proline accumulation were associated with levels of water stress in sugar beet genotypes. Among these indices, leaf-air temperature difference was a more precise parameter to measure. A negative correlation between Δ T (leaf -air temperature) and stomatal conductance was found. The correlation coefficients for 1998 and 1999 were -0.87 and -0.58, respectively. There was a positive correlation between Δ T and proline accumulation in sugar beet genotypes. The correlation coefficients for the 1998 and 1999 experiments were 0.61 and 0.49, respectively. The shoot: root ratio (S:R) measured at the end of the stress period showed that genotypes with a lower S:R often had a greater stomatal conductance. In general, genotypes with a lower S:R at the end of the stress period usually had a greater root dry weight. The correlation coefficients of S:R with root dry weight at the end of the stress period were -0.96 and -0.65 for 1998 and 1999, respectively.

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The main objective in sugar industry is to remove the colorants and other non-sucrose compounds in order to obtain thin sugar juice with high purity and quality. The aim of this research was to study the potential of ultrafiltration process and its operational conditions (process time, transmembrane pressure & temperature) on improving the purification and de-colorization performance of thin sugar beet juice. Experimental data was obtained using the pilot plant UF membrane system equipped to a spiral wound module and a polysulfone amide membrane with MWCO 20kD. In this work, the effect of transmembrane pressure (at levels of 1, 2 & 3 bar), process temperature (at levels of 30, 40 & 50oC) and operation time (at levels of 15, 30 and 45 minutes) on the purification indexes in sugar industry (Brix, polarization, purity, hardness & color) has been investigated. The results showed that the increase of duration of UF process decrease the separation degree of CaO content and turbidity, whereas the purity ratio and color removal increased for the same condition. It was found that increasing process temperature led to decrease the separation degree of CaO content, turbidity and color removal, however the purity ratio increased in this case. Increasing transmembrane pressure also improved the separation performance of non-sucrose compounds for all the UF conditions studied. The trials displayed satisfactory separation with an average purity rise of 0.72 unit, 7.2% lower CaO content, 72.5 % lower turbidity and 12.62 % lower color in the permeate.

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Rhizoctonia solani is the most serious problem on sugar beet Beta vulgaris L. grown in North Dakota and Minnesota. Picoxystrobin, a quinone outside inhibitor, and penthiopyrad, a succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor, were used alone and in combinations for controlling R. solani AG 2-2 IIIB on sugar beet under greenhouse conditions of 22 ± 2 °C and a 12-h photoperiod. Fungicides were applied in-furrow at planting, followed by inoculation with R. solani grown on barley seeds. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with four replicates and the experiment was repeated three times. Stand counts were taken and roots were evaluated for symptoms using a 0 to 7 scale 21 days after inoculation. Analysis of variance was conducted by the SAS general linear model, and Fisher’s protected least significant difference at α = 0.05 was used to compare treatment means. Fungicides used alone and in mixtures provided effective control of R. solani, which had significantly greater percent survivors than the inoculated check. This research demonstrated that picoxystrobin and penthiopyrad have the potential to be used for providing control of R. solani on sugar beet.  

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This study investigated intra-specific variation in the growth parameters and dry mat-ter partitioning of sugar beet cultivars at different levels of salinity (0, 50, 150, 250 and 350 mM NaCl + CaCl2 in 5:1 molar ratio) using four cvs, one British (Madison) and three Iranian cvs (7233-P12, 7233-P21 and 7233-P29). The plants were grown in a controlled greenhouse environment for about 18 weeks. Although growth parameters such as leaf area and dry matter accumulation were stimulated or unaffected at a low level of salinity (50 mM), higher salt concentrations significantly decreased all growth traits. At a high level of salinity, cv P29 showed a significantly higher leaf area and total dry matter than others at 16 weeks of salt treatment. Pre-dawn leaf-water potential (ΨL) and shoot water content (SWC) were decreased by salinity. Cvs Madison and P12 had significantly lower ΨL (more negative) and shoot water content at high levels of salt treatment (250 and 350 mM), while P29 and P21 showed higher ΨL (less negative) and shoot water content at the same salt concentrations. Analysis of ion accumulation revealed that Na+ and Cl- contents were greatly increased in leaves under saline conditions. However, salt tolerant P29 had lower Na+ and Cl- concentrations than other cvs at high levels of salinity. The root dry matter of sugar beet cvs at the lowest and the highest salt concentrations reduced by 23.3% and 89.8%, respectively compared to the non-stressed plants, while shoot dry mat-ter decreased by 1.1% and 77% at the same salt concentrations, respectively, after 16 weeks of salt treatment. The pattern of dry matter partitioning to different parts of the plant was changed by salt stress and the dry matter allocated to the storage roots was re-duced by 6% and 18% at the lowest and the highest salt concentrations, respectively, at 16 weeks after salinisation.

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     In this study tomato pomace and sugar beet pulp were first dried, milled and sieved and then were added to wheat flour at levels of 0, 1, 3, 5. 7 and 10 % (w/w, flour basis). Then the water absorption and the rheological properties of the dough were determined using a Brabender Farinograph. The samples containing 7% of either of the pulps were further de-colorized using H2O2. The results showed that with increasing the level of either of the pulps, water absorption of the flour increased significantly. Increasing the level of sugar beet pulp, dough development and stability times increased, while dough softening decreased. Addition of tomato pomace powder had reverse effects on farinograph parameters. De-colorization of either of the pulps increased water absorption, dough development and stability times and reduced dough softening. In general, it was found that addition of sugar beet pulp powder to the flour could increase dough stability, while addition of tomato pomace powder to the flour could soften the dough and reduce its stability.

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Curly top is one of the most important viral diseases of sugar beet. Use of resistance sources is a promising strategy for control of this disease. In the present study, the efficiency of four gene silencing constructs (OUT-hp، IN-hp، sense and antisense) against two major causes of curly top disease in Iran, beet curly top virus-Svr (BCTV) and beet curly top Iran virus (BCTIV), were evaluated in transgenic plants. Selection of transgenic plant seeds was carried out on selective medium 1/2MS containing glufosinate-ammonium (Basta) and the results showed that the pBCTV-IN-hp construct resulted in the highest germinated seeds. Selected plants were transferred to greenhouse and evaluated for resistance to basta and detection of silencing constructs in the transgenic plants. Afterwards, resistance of the selected transgenic plants to beet curly top viruses and resistance stability against cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) was evaluated in a completely randomized design with six treatments in a factorial experiment. The results showed that the transformed lines with each of four constructs were significantly different in severity of symptoms, plant height and number of flowering stems compared to their respective controls. Although these transgenic plants were resistant to BCTV-Svr and BCTIV, in their challenge inoculation experiments it was shown that this resistance was suppressed by CMV infection. 
 

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Beet virus Q (BVQ) is a soilborne pomovirus (family Virgaviridae) associated with rhizomania syndrome in sugar beet. In the present study, BVQ was investigated in sugar beet farms of 12 provinces in Iran by RT-PCR. Thirty-five out of 214 root samples resulted in a positive reaction to BVQ (16.3%). Moreover, 501-bp- long fragments of the coat protein gene of 11 Iranian isolates were purified, cloned, and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis using the 501 bp fragment of 17 BVQ isolates (11 from this study and six retrieved from GenBank) showed that all isolates clustered in two main groups. Iranian isolates belonged to group I alongside isolates from France (AJ810289) and Germany (AJ223597). Iranian isolates shared 98.80–100% nucleotide sequence identity (98.19–100% amino acid identity) and 97.21–99.60% nucleotide sequence identity (96.99–99.40% amino acid identity) with the corresponding sequence of six other BVQ isolates available in the GenBank. Iranian isolates displayed the highest nucleotide and amino acid sequence identities of 98.80-99.60% and 98.19-99.40%, respectively, with the French isolate FP71 (AJ810289). To our knowledge, this is the first molecular characterization of BVQ in Iran. This information can be used in plant breeding to obtain virus-resistant plants.

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A project was established to develop a procedure for the selection, design, installation, test and evaluation of mass-flow rate measurement systems for root crop harvesting and to assess the consistency and precision of the weighing systems incorporated into crop feed arrangements in both laboratory and field studies. Studies were conducted to evaluate conveyor belt weighing systems using an experimental apparatus and a commercial potato harvester. Two weighing systems were evaluated: (a) cantilever transducers fitted to the conveyor belt mechanism and (b) a load cell system supporting the total weight of the conveyor and crop. The results of laboratory studies with sugar beet/potatoes showed that the standard cantilever transducers gave the smallest percentage of standard deviation from the mean experimental error ranging from 1.43 kg (connected to one idler roller) to 2.61 kg(connected to three idler rollers) with an appropriate value equal to 0.54 kg (connected to two idler rollers). The load cell supporting system also gave the smallest percentage of standard deviation from the mean experimental error ranging from 1.56 kg (continuous side feeding) to 2.25 kg (side feeding from right side) with an appropriate value equal to 0.84 kg (steady state side feeding). Experiments were conducted in the laboratory and field to assess the effects of belt inclination and extraneous vibration, transferred from the tractor to the harvester, on the measurements of crop mass. The results of field studies with potatoes using the cantilever transducers showed that the most precise system performance was obtained when using the 125 mm idler wheels with standard deviation of the mean experimental error of the sample yield equal to 0.99 kg. The results of barn studies with potatoes using the load cell supporting system showed that there was a good linear relationship between the measured and weighed mass of the potato samples with standard deviation of the mean experimental error equal to 0.34 kg.

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The residues of metsulfuron-methyl in the soil can be a negative factor for the growth of susceptible crops to this herbicide. There are many successful examples of the use of bacteria to increase crop yields and protect plants against stress factors. The purpose of this work was to study the possibility of reducing the phytotoxic effect of metsulfuron-methyl in the soil on sugar beet using plant growth-promoting bacteria. Under greenhouse conditions, sugar beet seeds and bacteria were simultaneously placed in soil previously contaminated with methsulfuron-methyl. The weight of plants, leaf area, amount of proline, malondialdehyde, and flavonoids were measured. Suppression of the growth of young plants and oxidative damage caused by herbicides have been recorded. When sugar beet interacted with bacteria, Pseudomonas protegens DA1.2, oxidative stress caused by herbicide was mitigated, and the mass of plants increased. Treatment with bacteria against the background of herbicidal stress affected the dynamics of the content of flavonoids and proline, which play a role in the anti-stress reactions of plants.


 

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Sugar beet press water is one of the main wastewater in the sugar industry, which presently returned to the diffuser with no further treatment. Some form of treatment, such as pretreatment with membrane may however, improved the output efficiency of sugar plants. In this study, nanofiltration membrane (AFC80) were used to investigate the permeate flux, fouling percent and rejection percent of most important molassogenic ions (sodium and potassium) and sucrose. Sugar beet press water was provided by Abkoh sugar beet factory. The effect of operating parameters such as temperature (at levels of 25,40and 55ºC), trans membrane pressure (at levels of 10,15and 20 bar) on nanofiltration performance (permeate flux, fouling and rejection) were investigated. The results show that maximum permeate flux is obtained at 55 ºC and 20 bar, while the average value is 49.27 kgm-2h-1. The minimum permeate flux is obtained at 25 ºC and 10 bar, and the average value in this conditions is 14.63 kgm-2h-1. Maximum and minimum fouling are reached at 55 ºC and 20 bar and 25 ºC and 15 bar, respectively. Furthermore maximum rejection of sodium and potassium (84.3% and 72.5% respectively) is obtained at 25 ºC and 20 bar, and minimum of rejection of sodium and potassium (74.3% and 69.05% respectively) is obtained on 55 ºC and 10 bar. For all operating conditions, sucrose rejection was exceeded 95%. Variation in operating conditions had no significant effect on sucrose rejection.  

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  A lot of reasons are effective on growth of microorganisms during the storage of sugar beet in the silos. In this study, effect of the size of sugar beet (in 4 levels) and height of storage them (in 4 levels) in silos, in duration of 18 days, on growth changes of microorganism are investigated. In our study we observed that maximum activity microorganism growth (bacteria, mould, yeast and total count) in smallest sugar beets and minimum activity in biggest sugar beets. Also, maximum activity of microorganism growth belongs to the sugar beets that stored on 3 meter height and minimum activity belongs to stored on 5 meter height.

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The cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), is one of the most important pests of crops. Like other insects, this insect has an immune system against external threats such as various diseases, parasitoids, and chemical compounds. Phenoloxidase is a key factor in the immunity of insects and other arthropods. The present study investigated the lethal effects of four insecticides, indoxacarb, profenofos, chlorfluazuron, and hexaflumuron, and their effects on phenolic oxidase activity in cotton bollworm. Among the studied insecticides, in two bioassays (mixture of insecticide with artificial food and immersion of sugar beet leaves), Chlorfluazuron had the highest toxicity (LC₅₀ = 1.71 and 3.11 mg ai/liter, respectively). Also, the highest phenol-oxidase activity at 24 h was for larvae treated with chlorfluazuron and hexaflumuron. Also, when treated with chlorfluazuron and hexaflumuron, the larvae fed on an artificial diet had higher phenoloxidase activity than those fed on sugar beet cultivars.

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This study investigated the variation between two sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) cultivars with respect to growth parameters and photosynthetic rates of individual attached leaves during salinization. Sugar beet plants grown in sand culture were gradually exposed to different levels of salinity (0, 50, 150 , 250, and 350 mM, NaCl+CaCl2 in 5:1 ratio). Salt concentrations significantly decreased all growth traits. At the highest level of salinity (350 mM), cv 7233- P29 showed a significantly higher leaf area and total dry matter than Madison after eight weeks of salt treatment commencment. Net photosynthesis (ACO2) and stomatal conductance (gs) were strongly affected by salinity. The Na+ and Cl- concentrations in shoots significantly increased as salt concentration increased. Net photosynthesis (ACO2) was plotted against computed leaf internal CO2 concentration (Ci), and the initial slope of this ACO2-Ci curve was used as a measure of photosynthetic ability. Leaves from plants exposed to 50 mM salinity showed little change in photosynthesis, whereas those treated by high levels of salinity had up to 91.5% inhibition in photosynthetic rates and an increase in CO2 compensation point. Leaf chlorophyll content increased with increasing salinity. Although partial stomatal closure occurred with salinization, reductions in photosynthesis were partly non-stomatal at high levels of salt treatment.

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In this research, response surface based on central composite design (3-factor 5-level) was applied to estimate the efficacy of independed variables on quality indexes (depended variables) of raw beet juice. Hence, the effect of different durations (20-100 min), temperatures (40-55 °C), and at various concentration level of pectinase (0.001-0.02 % v/v) on viscosity, color, turbidity and purity of sugar beet juice were investigated and successfully coordinated by a second-order polynomial model (R² > 0. 85). The experiments indicated that the temperature was the most important variable affecting the characteristics of the raw juice as it exposes a significant effect on the responses. The optimum enzymatic treatment condition from the study was at 0.012 % enzyme concentration at 49 ֯C for 65 min.

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Despite the numerous health effects of the dietary fibers, the amount of the fiber in the diet is  generally  lower than the recommended value. The main objective of this study was to include  sugar-beet fiber  in  the  sponge cake  recipe  and  to  determine  the chemical, physical and sensory properties of the resultant product. Therefore, fiber at different levels of 10, 20 and 30% (w/w, basis on flour) were used as a replacement of wheat flour in the cake recipe. Increasing the level of fiber resulted in the increase in ash, crude fiber, dietary fiber, cell Density, moisture, hardness and cake volume. In addition, cake crust and crumb became darker. Cake hardness increased, while cohesiveness decreased .Also cakes fiber had acceptable sensory characteristics. Finally, according to results of a general acceptance due to the average of the sensory properties, the samples contained 10% sugar-beet fiber, had the highest approval rating among the taste panelists. And according to the results of other tests, adding fiber to the level of 10% was acceptable and not significantly different from control samples(P > 0.05).

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Powdered activated carbon has high adsorption capacity with the remarkable nonpolar surface. The surface forces (van der Waal’s and London) create a stronger attraction between the carbon surface and impurities in comparison to present molecules in dilute molasses. The aim of the study was to adsorb types of impurities such as colorants, turbidity agents, phenolic compounds, anthocyanin and protein of dilute molasses (35% sugar beet dilute molasses) using powdered activated carbon at 4 levels (0.61, 0.78, 1.13, and 1.83 g 100g-1 dilute molasses) at pH 4.5. Further, Freundlich and Longmuir sorption isotherm models were evaluated to predict reduction of impurities. The results of equilibrium isotherms based on the coefficient of determination and adsorption capacity exhibited that the adsorption of impurities such as colorants (R² = 0.9605 and K_f = 5.0794), phenolic compounds (R² = 0.7605 and K_f = 0.9755) and protein (R² = 0.9679 and K_f = 1.9314) didn’t follow from Freundlich model. Turbidity agents and anthocyanin didn’t follow any of the studied models.

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One of the major changes that occurs during the processing, distribution and final preparation of food is the oxidation of fats and oils, and due to the production of undesirable compounds in the oil, it has adverse effects on the health of consumers, so prevent or delay in oxidation process under thermal and storage conditions is necessary. In this study, ultrasound was used to extract the antioxidant extract of beet leaves and the best extract in terms of antioxidant power was used to increase the oxidative stability of soybean oil. In this study, 4 ultrasonic time levels (0, 20, 40 and 60 minutes) were used and the best extract in different concentrations (200, 600 and 1000 ppm) was soybean oil which was accelerated for 15 days under oxidation conditions (temperature 63 ° C). was maintained, added, and tests such as peroxide, thiobarbituric acid index and conjugated dien value were performed on the oils. The results showed that with increasing ultrasound time, the extraction efficiency of antioxidant extract, total phenol, percentage of free radical scavenging DPPH and iron reducing power increased and finally the sample obtained from 60 minutes of ultrasound was selected as the best sample. On the other hand, the results of tests performed on soybean oil showed that by increasing the concentration of antioxidants to 600 ppm, the amount of peroxide, thiobarbituric acid index and conjugated dien value decreased and with increasing the concentration of antioxidants and storage time in soybean oil These features increased. Finally, it can be stated that the use of 600 ppm of antioxidants obtained from sugar beet leaves extracted by ultrasound can compete with the synthetic antioxidant BHT and can be used to stabilize soybean oil.

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Determining the mechanical properties of various agricultural products is necessary to analyze their behavior during transport, processing and precision design of machines to minimize waste. Therefore, in this study, the effect of mass at the levels of m> 500 and m≤ 500 g as well as the loading speed at the levels of 4.5, 7.5 and 10.5 mm/min on some mechanical properties of sugar beet such as rupture force, deformation at rupture point and rupture energy were examined. Then, for data analysis, factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design was used and the comparison of means was performed by Duncanchr('39')s multiple range test at α=1%. According to the results, the effect of loading speed on all mechanical properties was significant, but except for the rupture force, different mass levels did not have a significant effect on the deformation at rupture point and rupture energy. In this regard, the highest rupture force (72.3 N) in samples with mass of m>500 g and in the loading speed of 4.5 mm/min, but the lowest amount (42.4 N) in samples with mass of m≤500 g  and in the loading speed of 10.5 mm/min was measured. In this regard, the highest deformation at the rupture point (25.28 mm) in samples with mass of m > 500 g and in loading speed 4.5 mm/min and the lowest amount (16.4 mm) in samples with mass  m≤500 g  and in speed ‌Load 10.5 mm/ min was obtained. Also, the highest (82.1 mJ) and lowest (26.48 mJ) values of rupture energy were determined in samples with mass of m > 500 g and loading speeds of 4.5 and 10.5 mm/min, respectively. 
 

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 Transition from vegetative to reproductive growth is an important stage in plant’s life. Flowering pathways including photoperiod, vernalization, gibberellins, and autonomous pathway are regulated by different genes. Identification of flowering genes is essential for the development of bolting-resistant sugar beet cultivars. In this study, a set of 118 Arabidopsis thaliana genes involved in flowering time control were used as a reference to identify homologous counterparts in Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) and Transcriptome Shotgun Assembly (TSA) sequence of sugar beet. Based on obtained ESTs, primers were designed for Suppressor of Frigida 4 (SUF4), Curly Leaf (CLF), Constitutive Photomorphogenesis1 (COP1), and Cycling Dof Factor (CDF) genes. SUF4 and CLF are components of vernalization pathway and COP1 and CDF are in photoperiod pathway. The sequence regions of these genes were amplified using cDNA PCR technique, and compared with other identified sequences in Gene Bank. Four genes namely CLF, COP1, CDF and SUF4 were deposited in Gene Bank. Results showed that most of the flowering pathway genes in Arabidopsis are detectable in sugar beet which can be contributed to the understanding of the genetic control of bolting resistance.