Experiments were conducted to determine the settling behavior, survival, and reproduction of the beet leafhopper, Circulifer tenellus (Baker), when maintained on selected host plants. This leafhopper was recently identified in the Columbia Basin of Washington and Oregon as the probable vector of the beet leafhopper-transmitted virescence agent phytoplasma, causal agent of several vegetable crop...

Sugarbeet and fodder beet (Beta vulgaris L.) are being considered for fuel alcohol product ion (1,2). Sugarbeet is susceptible to Heterodera schachtii Schm., and yields are adversely affected (3). T h e effect of the nematode on fodder beet is not known. T h e objective of this study, therefore, was to compare certain aspects of the host-parasite relations of H. schachtii on sugarbeet and fodde...

The structure and function of the plant microbiome is driven by plant species and prevailing environmental conditions. Effectuated by breeding efforts, modern crops diverge genetically and phenotypically from their wild relatives but little is known about consequences for the associated microbiota. Therefore, we studied bacterial rhizosphere communities associated with the wild beet B. vulgaris...

BACKGROUND Intermediates from processing sugar beets are considered an attractive feedstock for ethanol fermentation due to their high fermentable sugar content. In particular, medium prepared from raw sugar beet juice seems to be suitable for use in fermentation processes, but it is microbiologically unstable and requires sterilization. RESULTS This study investigates the effect of ozone tre...

We analyzed a metagenome of the bacterial community associated with the taproot of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) in order to investigate the genes involved in plant growth-promoting traits (PGPTs), namely 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase, indole acetic acid (IAA), N2 fixation, phosphate solubilization, pyrroloquinoline quinone, siderophores, and plant disease suppression as...

BACKGROUND Enzymatic degradation of plant biomass requires a complex mixture of many different enzymes. Like most fungi, thermophilic Myceliophthora species therefore have a large set of enzymes targeting different linkages in plant polysaccharides. The majority of these enzymes have not been functionally characterized, and their role in plant biomass degradation is unknown. The biotechnologica...

The objectives of this experiment were to determine a NE value for pressed beet pulp and the value of concentrated separator by-product (de-sugared molasses) as a ruminal N source in growing and finishing diets for beef cattle. One hundred forty-four cross-bred beef steers (282 +/- 23 kg of initial BW) were used in 2 experiments (growing and finishing). A randomized complete block design was us...

BACKGROUND Sugar beet molasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar beets into sugar. The molasses is known to contain sucrose and raffinose, a typical trisaccharide, with a well-established structure. Although sugar beet molasses contains various other oligosaccharides as well, the structures of those oligosaccharides have not been examined in detail. The purpose of this study wa...

Male gametogenesis in plants can be impaired by an incompatibility between nuclear and mitochondrial genomes, termed cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS). A sterilizing factor resides in mitochondria, whereas a nuclear factor, Restorer-of-fertility (Rf), restores male fertility. Although a majority of plant Rf genes are thought to encode a family of RNA-binding proteins called pentatrico-peptide re...

The decision of whether to release transgenic crops in the EU is one subject to flexibility, uncertainty and irreversibility. We analyse the case of herbicide-tolerant sugar beet and estimate the maximum irreversible environmental cost that can be tolerated for this technology from a benefit–cost perspective. Among Member States, these costs range from an annual € 50 to € 212 per hectare plante...