Formalized Assessment of the Progression of Diseases of Sugar Beet Entering the Sugar Production Process Flow

Abstract

This research was aimed at developing descriptive scoring scales for organoleptic assessment of the progression of sugar beet diseases. Preference was given to a five-point scale associated with a five-point scale of acceptability of the resource consumption level during the processing of sugar beets with various technological qualities. The development of the scale for assessing the progression of diseases included the formation of descriptive characteristics of healthy root crops and root crops with signs of degradation by five levels. The descriptive characteristics are focused on the shape of the root crop and the state of its surface and internal tissue. Depending on the disease progression, the signs of degradation of the superficial tissue were accepted in the following increasing order: the occurrence of small lateral roots on the surface; rough or necrotic areas with a loose and flaking structure; depressed areas of dried necrotic tissue, with various sizes and colors and with different locations, occupying a certain surface area; the appearance of mold; transition of the tissue structure from the dense to the soft and loose state. Signs of the state of the internal tissue were characterized by color transition from white-cream to smoke-white; signs of the state of vessels were characterized by color transition from white or light beige to brown, with the formation of cracks of different sizes and with the appearance of mold, as well as by the formation of differently localized necrotic dark brown tissue areas, occupying a certain surface area; and signs of the tissue structure were characterized by the transition from the dense to soft and loose state. Testing of the developed point scales has shown the convenience of their use and correlation of the scale points characterizing the changes in the root crop with the corresponding levels of the scale of resource consumption by the beet sugar factory. Their combined use makes it possible to give a formalized assessment of the level of disease progression and gain insight on the potential costs of its processing.