The first all-in-one reference for the beet-sugar industry Beet-Sugar Handbook is a practical and concise reference for technologists, chemists, farmers, and research personnel involved with the beet-sugar industry. It covers: * Basics of beet-sugar technology * Sugarbeet farming * Sugarbeet processing * Laboratory methods of analysis The book also includes technologies that improve the operation and profitability of the beet-sugar factories, such as: * Juice-softening process * Molasses-softening process * Molasses-desugaring process * Refining cane-raw sugar in a beet-sugar factory The book ends with a review of the following: * Environmental concerns of a beet-sugar factory * Basics of science related to sugar technology * Related tables for use in calculations Written in a conversational, engaging style, the book is user friendly and practical in its presentation of relevant scientific and mathematical concepts for readers without a significant background in these areas. For ease of use, the book highlights important notes, defines technical terms, and presents units in both metric and British systems. Operating problem-solving related to all stations of sugarbeet processing, frequent practical examples, and given material/energy balances are other special features of this book.

It is important to include Tuber and Root Crops in the Handbook of Plant Breeding. They include starchy staple crops that are of increasing importance for global food security and relief of poverty, important millennium goals for the United Nations. Indeed, 2008 was the UN International Year of the Potato in recognition of this role of the potato as the world’s third most important food crop after wheat and rice. The other major staples are cassava, sweetpotato and yam. Together they occupy about 50 million hectares, with production at 640 million metric tons, of which 70% is in developing countries. In total there are more than 30 species of Root and Tuber Crops grown in the world today. Given the content of other volumes in the series, it makes sense to include sugar and fodder beets; swedes and turnips; and minor root and tuber crops so that the book series is as complete as possible. Like the other volumes in the series, this one will present information on the latest in applied plant breeding using the current advances in the field, from an efficient use of genetic resources to the impact of biotechnology in plant breeding. Seven crop specific chapters are proposed, together with an introduction to this diverse set of plant species. Outstanding scientists for each crop species are proposed as senior authors, who may invite co-authors to contribute part of a chapter. In order to increase the overall acceptance of the volume, balance will be sought with authors from different research groups/countries who will be asked to contribute and collaborate where appropriate. The book should be of interest to researchers in both academic and industrial settings, and in both developed and developing countries, as well as students and teachers of plant breeding. It is currently extremely important to educate and train a new generation of plant breeders given the challenges faced by humankind in producing more food for an expanding global population during a period of environmental (including climate) change.

Plant Breeding Reviews presents state-of-the-art reviews on plant genetics and the breeding of all types of crops by both traditional means and molecular methods. Many of the crops widely grown today stem from a very narrow genetic base; understanding and preserving crop genetic resources is vital to the security of food systems worldwide. The emphasis of the series is on methodology, a fundamental understanding of crop genetics, and applications to major crops.

This major work has but one aim: to provide breeders and researchers from the public and private sectors with all the latest information on the breeding of crops of economic relevance. Also, it serves as a major reference book for post-graduate courses and PhD courses on breeding vegetable crops, as well a one-stop-shop for horticulturists and extension agents interested in current advancements in the development of new vegetable crops varieties. Each chapter incorporates the most up-to-date information on the crops examined, and an important novelty is that, in comparison to other books already published on this subject this one contains the most cutting-edge information on molecular breeding techniques.

The study of sweetness and sweeteners has recently been an area well served by books at all levels, but this volume was planned to fill what we perceived as a gap in the coverage. There appeared to be no book which attempted to combine a study of sweetness with a thorough but concise coverage of all aspects of sweeteners. We set out to include all the important classes of sweeteners, including materials which do not yet have regulatory approval, so that clear comparisons could be made between them and their technological advantages and disadvantages. To achieve our first aim, of sufficient depth of coverage, the accounts within this volume are comprehensive enough to satisfy the requirements of a demanding readership, but cannot be exhaustive in a single volume of moderate proportions. The second aim, of breadth and conciseness, is satisfied by careful selection of the most pertinent material. For the purposes of this book, a sweetener is assumed to be any substance whose primary effect is to sweeten a food or beverage to be consumed, thus including both the nutritive and non-nutritive varieties, from the ubiquitous sucrose to the lesser known, newer developments in alternative sweeteners. The volume has its contents structured in a logical manner to enable it to be used in an ordered study of the complete subject area or as a convenient reference source.

This volume is intended for reference by the commercial sugar cane grower. Disciplines are covered for the successful production of a sugar cane crop. A number of good books exist on field practices related to the growing of sugar cane. Two examples are R.P. Humbert's The Growing of Sugar Cane and Alex G. Alexander's Sugarcane Physiology. Volumes of technical papers, produced regularly by the International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists, are also a source of reference. Perhaps foremost, local associations, such as the South African Sugar Technologists' Association, do excellent work in this regard. In my forty-five years of experience with the day-to-day problems of producing a satisfactory crop of sugar cane, deciding what should be done to produce such a crop was not straightforward. Although the literature dealing with specific subjects is extensive, I tried to consolidate some of the material to provide the man in the field with information, or an overview of the subject matter.

A recipe-complemented guide to edible plants that can be found in the British countryside shares essential facts about conservation, safety, legal concerns and necessary tools and includes additional information about seasonal growth cycles and cooking strategies. By the author of Mushrooms.