J Sci Food Agric 1996,70,369-372

Sugar Beet Grown Using Nutrient Film

Technique : Yield and Nutritional Quality
Aurea M Almazan,* Desmond G Mortley and Patricia J Grant
George Washington Carver Agricultural Experiment Station, School of Agriculture and Home Economics,
Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL 36088, USA
(Received 3 November 1995; revised version received 24 June 1995; accepted 22 September 1995)

Abstract: Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L cv Great Western Sugar) was grown using
the nutrient film technique with a half-strength modified Hoagland nutrient solu-
tion to determine its biomass yield and nutritional quality. After 6 months,
storage root and foliage weights per plant were 493.1 g and 551.0 g, respectively.
Sucrose content in the fresh storage root was 118.4 g kg-' but was less than
10 g kg-' in the fresh leaves and petioles. Some nutrients in the leaves and peti-
oles were analysed to evaluate their potential as a leafy vegetable. Fresh leaf
protein, total dietary fibre, mineral (Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe and K), vitamin (carotene,
ascorbic acid and thiamine) and oxalic acid concentrations were similar to those
of consumer-accepted green vegetables.

Key words: sugar beet, storage root, green vegetable, leafy vegetable, nutrient
film technique.

INTRODUCTION
Tuskegee University has been using the nutrient film
technique (NFT) in the production of sweetpotatoes for
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's
Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS)
programme (Morris et al 1989; Mortley et al 1991;
Bonsi et al 1992). CELSS is an engineered biological
life-support system where the ecology is strictly con-
trolled to operate within a limited, enclosed environ-
ment and within certain environmental parameters
(Wieland 1994). In this environment, utilisation of the
whole plant must be maximised to reduce waste pro-
duction. Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L) is among the can-
didate sugar crops of CELSS (Hoff et al 1982). Even
though sugar beet foliage is generally discarded or used
as animal feed, it is a potential green vegetable.
This study was conducted to determine the yield of
sugar beet cultivar Great Western Sugar using the
nutrient film technique system for sweetpotato. Concen-
trations of protein, total dietary fibre, minerals (Ca, Mg,
Zn, Fe and K), vitamins (carotene, ascorbic acid and
* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
369
J Sci Food Agric 0022-5142/96/$09.00 0 1996 SCI. Printed in Great Britain
thiamine) and oxalic acid in the leaf lamina and petiole
were determined to evaluate their nutritional quality.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Production and sample preparation
Sugar beet cultivar Great Western Sugar was grown in
the greenhouse with a daytime (6 am to 6 pm) tem-
perature of 22-29°C and a night-time (6 pm to 6 am)
temperature of 20-26°C. Sunlight irradiance at canopy
level was 340-620 pmols m-' s-' during the day, and
20-150 pmols m P 2 s - * at night. Seeds were germinated
on a cotton cloth (10 x 20 cm) suspended by two strips
(2.5 cm wide) of black/white vinyl in an NFT channel
(Morris et al 1989; Mortley et al 1991). The cloth ends
were immersed in a half-strength modified Hoagland
nutrient solution (Hoagland and Arnon 1950; Loretan
et al 1989) with an N : K ratio of 1 : 2.4, to serve as
wicks supplying moisture and nutrients to the germi-
nating seeds. Four seedlings at the one or two true leaf
stage were transferred to each of six channels without
370
the flat plate assembly (FPA). This was removed
because a preliminary trial with FPA produced
restricted taproot crown size with reduced number of
leaves. Also, the preliminary trial without FPA sug-
gested that subsurface contact or pressure on the
taproot may not be necessary for storage root initiation
and development. Nutrient solution, initially 30-2 litres,
was continuously pumped into the channel at the rate
of 1 litre min-' and was changed every 2 weeks. Deion-
ised water was added intermittently to the nutrient solu-
tion to bring it back to its original volume. Initial
solution pH and electrical conductivity varied from 6.4
to 6.9 and from 89 to 130 mS m-', respectively. Fresh
weights/per plant of the storage and fibrous roots and
foliage for each of the six channels were determined at
harvest 6 months later.
One plant per channel was used for sugar and nutri-
ent analyses. The taproot was cut into 1 cm cubes and
freeze-dried to reduce browning reactions after samples
for assays requiring fresh materials were obtained. The
green and undamaged foliage was separated into leaf
and petiole, the cut being made at the base of the
lamina. Each part was chopped into small pieces,
samples taken for some analyses, and the remainder
dried at 60°C.
Chemical analyses
The Association of Official Analytical Chemists' pro-
cedures (AOAC 1990) were used for analyses. Dry
matter content was determined by drying overnight at
100 k 2°C. Crude protein was calculated by multiplying
Kjeldahl nitrogen by 6.25. Total nitrogen was deter-
mined by digestion of the ground dried sample in a
Tecator Digestion System, followed by distillation and
titration in a Kjeltec Auto 1030 Analyzer (Tecator AB,
Hoganas, Sweden). Ash was determined gravimetrically
by burning the dried material at 600°C (AOAC 942.05).
Concentrations of Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe and K in the ash
were determined by using a flame atomic absorption
spectrophotomer (Perkin Elmer, Norwalk, Conneticut,
USA) (AOAC 963.15). Fat was extracted with hexane
using the Soxhlet method (AOAC 963.15). Total dietary
fibre (TDF) was obtained using an enzymatic gravimet-
ric method (AOAC 985.29). Carotene was extracted
from the fresh materials and determined spectro-
photometrically after separation from other pigments
by column chromatography (AOAC 941.15). The rapid
fluorometric method (AOAC 953.17) was used to assay
thiamine. Ascorbic acid and oxalic acid were titrated
with 2,6-dichloroindophenol (AOAC 967.21) and per-
manganate (AOAC 974.24), respectively. Soluble sugars
were extracted with 80% ethanol and assayed by a
modified HPLC procedure (Picha 1985) using a
Bio-Rad HRLC system with a refractive index monitor
(Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc, Hercules, California, USA).
A M Almazan et a1
Sucrose, fructose and glucose were eluted in 15 min
through a Bio-Rad fast carbohydrate analysis column
(100 x 7.8 mm), maintained at 80°C and protected by a
Bio-Rad Carbo-P guard cartridge, with water at a flow-
rate of 0.4 ml min-'.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Total, storage and fibrous root, and foliage biomass per
plant at harvest are shown in Table 1. The storage root
weight obtained (435.5 g) was lower than that of the
average field grown plant (650 g) and that obtained by
Bone et al (1981) (640 g) using a different NFT system
with sewage effluent as the nutrient source. The taproot,
which is used as a raw material for sucrose, was only
402 g kg-' of the total fresh biomass. The foliage,
which is ordinarily discarded or used as animal feed,
was 544 g kg-', almost half of the total fresh biomass.
In a closed system such as CELSS, utilisation of the
foliage as a green vegetable can reduce waste pro-
duction and treatment.
Both leaf lamina and stem are edible but preference
for one part only is possible. The compositions of these
parts, therefore, were separately determined (Table 2).
Sucrose was the main sugar in the storage root
(118.4 g kg-') with fructose and glucose at very low
and undetectable concentrations, respectively. This
value was lower than that obtained from sugar beets
grown in sewage effluent (145 g kg-' total reducing
sugars (Bone et a1 1981))and in field-grown plants fertil-
ised with beef feedlot waste (111.6-135.5 g kg-' (Eck
1990)). However, storage root dry matter content
(194-4 g kg-') was lower than the average for field-
grown plants (250 g kg-') (Wyse 1982). Thus, on a dry
weight basis, sucrose concentrations are comparable in
both hydroponic and field-grown plants.
The leaf lamina had higher dry matter, ash, crude
protein and fat contents but lower sugar concentrations
than the petiole (Table 2). Dry matter, ash, crude
protein and fat in both parts were comparable to those
of field-grown red beet greens (Duke and Atchley 1986).
Leaf protein (33.3 g kg-') was in the same range as
TABLE 1
Biomass per plant and plant part of sugar beet grown using
N F T (mean k SEM, for six channels)
Plant part Dry matter Fresh weight g kg-'
(9 k g - ' ) (9) total
biomass
Total biomass 1051.0 114.5 1000
Storage root 173.9 _+ 8.8 435.5 & 79.5 402 f 31
Foliage 122.3 3.2 558.6 & 45.0 544 k 31
Fibrous root 92.1 f 4.6 56.9 & 1.6 54 f 4
Sugar beet yield and nutritional quality 371

TABLE 2
Composition of fresh sugar beet cultivar Great Western Sugar
grown in NFT (g kg- ') (mean f SEMP
~~

Component Storage root Leaf Petiole

Dry matter 194.4 4-0 135.5 & 3.5 92.9 1.7

Crude protein 13.5 f 0.4 33.3 f 0.8 7.4 f 0.4
Crude fat 1.8 f 0.2 +
5.2 0.2 0.8 f 0.1
Ash 11.3 f 0.4 16.0 f 1.3 11.0 0.7+
Sugars
Sucrose 118.4 f 1.7 3.8 It 0.5 +
6.6 0.6
Glucose NDb 8.9 f 1.5 24.4 f 2.0
Fructose 1.3 f 0.6 +
4.5 1.2 11.4 1.2+
Total dietary fibre 26.9 f 1.6 31.2 f 0.7 25.6 0.7+
Oxalic acid (mg) NDet' +
4153 343 287 f 25
~ ~~~

Replicate number = 12 for dry matter, 18 for oxalic acid, 6 for

other components.
' Not detectable. Limit of detection was 0.1 g kg- l .
Not determined.

those for spinach, collard, mustard and turnip greens
(Pennington and Church 1985; Duke and Atchley
1986).
The concentration of the antinutrient oxalic acid in
the sugar beet leaves (Table 2) was similar to, and in the
petiole lower than those of sweetpotato tips, spinach
and amaranth (Eheart and Massev 1962; Tung et a1
1975; Luh and Moomaw 1979). Total dietary fibre in
both leaves and petiole was higher than those in the
above leafy vegetables.
Mineral concentrations were higher in the leaf than in
the petiole (Table 3). Compared to field-grown red beet
greens, Ca and K levels were lower (1190 and
5700 mg kg-') but Fe content was similar
(33 mg kg-') (Duke and Atchley 1981). Carotene con-
centration in the sugar beet leaves was higher than in
spinach, collard, mustard, turnip and red beet greens,
and sweetpotato tips but thiamine and ascorbic acid
contents were considerably lower (Pennington and
Church 1985; Duke and Atchley 1986).
The NFT system used for sweetpotato production
without FPA appears to be a suitable hydroponic
system to grow sugar beets especially in a CELSS.
Growth conditions can be modified to obtain yields at
least similar to those obtained in the field. The nutrients
in the sugar beet leaves and petiole are comparable to
those in consumer-accepted greens, hence the foliage
can also be utilised as a leafy vegetable, maximizing the
use of the crop and reducing plant wastes.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This paper is contribution no 239 of the George Wash-
ington Carver Agricultural Experiment Station and was

TABLE 3
Vitamins and minerals in fresh sugar beet grown by NFT (mg kg-')
(mean f SEMP
~

Component Storage root Leaf Petiole

Mineral
Ca +
76 3 +
665 53 103 8
Fe 41 f 1 30f 3 9f1
m 523 f 48 3953 & 508 929 294 +
K 1320 k 285 2201 f 735 1663 f 470
Zn 9+2 25 + 4 12f0
Vitamins
Ascorbic acid (mg) NDetb +
109.1 3.5 22.3 2.3 +
Carotene (mg) NDet 76.1 k 5.7 8.4 f 0.7
Carotene (IU) NDet 127000 f 9500 14 100 f 1100
Thiamine (pg) NDet 91.2 f 10.1 39.4 5.6 +
Replicate number = 9 for carotene, 6 for other components.
* Not determined.
312
supported by funds from the National Aeronautic and
Space Administration (Grant no NAGW-2940). Any
opinions, findings and conclusions o r recommendations
expressed in this publication are those of the authors
and do not necessarily reflect the views of NASA.
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