THE SUGAR BEET INDUSTRY

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23315, 29 April 1941, Page 10

THE SUGAR BEET INDUSTRY

ESTABLISHMENT IN DOMINION ADDRESS TO SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS “In the establishment of a sugar beet industry one sees great possibilities,’’ said Professor H. G. Denham (chairman of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research), commenting on an address on this industry at a meeting of the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Society of Engineers last evening. The talk was given by Mr T. G. Beck (district engineer for the Public Works Department), and it gave information about the history of the sugar beet industry as well as a description of tests conducted in South Canterbury during the last few years with reference to the possible manufacture of beet sugar in New Zealand. Professor Denham said the Dominion stood at a cross-roads with its farm economy, and that after the war changes could be expected, particularly in the textile industry, with the intensive application of machinery. Although the sugar beet industry had come into an odium it did not deserve, because of the general application of government subsidies, all the evidence he had seen indicated that it was something well worth investigating and whether we liked it or not we would perhaps be compelled to explore these avenues within the next three or four years, said Professor Denham.

During the Great War, the industry received its first real boo; in England, Mr Beck stated. A company was formed and, with Government grants, began to produce sugar. In 1923, 13,000 tons of sugar were produced, and by 1931 this had increased to 500,000 tons, obtained from 19 factories. At this stage more than one-third of the world’s production of 30.000,000 tons of sugar was produced from beet. Sugar was a commodity of importance in all parts of the world. In China the average consumption a person was only six pounds a year, while in Denmark this figure rose to 124 pounds. New Zealand consumed one hundred-weight, and on this basis.was one of the highest consumers. Thus there were good reasons for investigating the establishment of the sugar beet industry if it were practicable. Factors for Consideration Factors to consider in the production of sugar from beet were the percentage of sugar present, the weight of the beet itself, and the amount produced in an acre; and from the manufacturing side of the question, the quantity of sugar recovered, depending on the shape and size of the beet. The intermediary processes between growing the plant and treating it in the factory influenced very greatly the amount of sugar ultimately recovered. The problem of breeding the ideal beet for sugar production was a highly technical one involving the application of the theory of genetics and type selection to a degree hardly exceeded in the development of any other plant. Showing pictures of crops, and plants grown in South Canterbury under the direction of Messrs A. Grant (agricultural instructor) and W. C. Stafford (irrigation officer) at Timaru, Mr Beck mentioned that the results of testing the sugar content and weighing the average beet yield from an acre showed that deep, medium loam, of which there was more than 60.CKJO acres in that district, was most suitable. In 1937 and 1938 about 10 acres in small plots of about one and a half to two acres in area were sown as well as about four acres in 1939. Results of all these trials showed a yield of about 20 tons of beet to an acre with a sugar percentage of 18 to 20. This compared very favourably with continental yields. Supplies of imported seed were used and a start had been made on small plots of selected beet to carry on a selection programme for the production of New Zealand seed. . From the engineer’s point, he concluded, beet with a high sugar content could be produced economically in the Dominion.