Why are energy beets being used and what are their main characteristics?
75% water, 16% sucrose, 5.5% pulp, nitrate mopping potential Energy beets contain approximately 75% water, 5.5% pulp, and sucrose. (By comparison, corn contains 15.5% water.) In North America, average energy beet crop yields are 22.7 MT/acre with 16% sucrose content. These USDA numbers were used to generate the business plan for ABC. The results from the 40 acres of energy beets which were grown as a test crop on PEI in 2007 showed that PEI farmers can meet or exceed the average North American numbers. It is important to note that to grow a successful energy beet crop (high in sucrose content), the energy beet plant cannot be over nitrated. Over nitrating causes the plant to become lazy and not create any sugars. Fields must be tested for their soil nitrate level and then only the proper amount of nitrogen can be applied to ensure proper plant growth and sugar production. The energy beet plant also has the capability of “mopping up” soil nitrates which have remained in the soil from a