The Effect of Concentration of Beeswax Emulsion on Shelf Life and Quality of Beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) during Room Temperature Storage

Beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) is one of the horticultural products that have the potential for development in Indonesia. beetroot contains a high level of betalain and vitamin C, so it can be an antioxidant for cancer. But nowadays, post-harvest handling is not specially noticed by people yet. The aims of this research were to determine the effect of beeswax coating on shelf life and quality of the beetroot and determine the best wax emulsion concentration as beetroot coating. This research was conducted at the Posharvesting Handling Laboratory of the Faculty of Agriculture and Business, Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga. The method used Randomized Block Design with 4 treatments and 6 replications. The concentration of beeswax emulsions used in this research is about 4%, 8%, and 12%. The observed parameter was weight loss, respiration, total dissolved solids, water content, and vitamin C. The results show that the treatment with a concentration of 12% of beeswax emulsion is the best result when compared with other treatments. The result also shows the concentration of 12% beeswax emulsion can maintain the storage time and quality of the beetroot.

Syneresis, and acidity value of fermented goat milk added with beet (Beta vulgaris L.) juice using Lactobacillus rhamnosus

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of adding beet juice in fermented goat’s milk using Lactobacillus rhamnosus bacteria on the acidity, syneresis value. This study applied a Complete Randomized Design (RAL) consisting of five treatments Control (P0), 2% of beet juice (P1), 4% of beet juice (P2), 6% of beet juice (P3), and 8% of beet juice (P4) with four repetitions. The data obtained were analysed using ANOVA (Analysis of Variance). If a significant difference is found, then Duncan’s multiple range (DMRT) test is conducted. The results showed that the addition of beet juice with a different percentage in fermented goat milk had significant effect (P<0.05) on syneresis but had a very significantly effect (P<0.01) on the pH value. The addition of 2% of Beet juice resulted in the lowest syneresis value of 9.88%. The low value of syneresis in this study was caused by the addition of beet juice which has high acidity, carbohydrate and protein content. The higher the lactic acid, the lower the pH and the denser the texture formed because the protein’s ability to bind water increases so that the syneresis formed is lower.

The EFFICACY OF DUAL GOLD (S-METOLACHLOR) ON WEED BIOMASS (g m-2) AND ON THE GROWTH AND YIELD COMPONENTS OF SUGAR BEET (BETA VULGARIS L.) CV. CALIFORNIA-KWS

Weed infestation is a major problem and matter of concern as it reduces yield as well as quality of many crops including sugar beet. Manual weeding is very tedious, costly, time consuming and most probably non-availability of trained and skillful labor is another issue. Keeping in view these facts, an experiment was performed to evaluate the efficacy of dual gold on the weed biomass (gm-2) and on the growth and yield components of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) cv. California-KWS during 2013-14 and 2014-15. The study was performed using RCBD having five treatments and three replications. The treatments included different application times (pre-emergence application and application after 15, 30 and 45 days after emergence) of dual gold (s-Metolachlor) and a control (weedy check). Data were recorded on fresh and dry weed biomasses (g m-2), number of leaves plant-1, leaf area plant-1 (cm2), leaf and root weights plant-1 (g), sucrose%, TSS%, root and sugar yields (t ha-1). The results showed significant variation among the treatments for all parameters during both years of study. Among the treatments the dual gold (s-Metolachlor) applied as pre-emergence reduced weed fresh and dry biomasses (g m-2) and also enhanced number of leaves plant-1, leaf area (cm2), leaf and root weight plant-1, sucrose%, TSS%, root and sugar yields (t ha-1) during both years. Hence it is concluded that dual gold (s-Metolachlor) applied as pre-emergence is best for eradicating weeds at early stages of growth and hence improving yield and quality of sugar beet under Dera Ismail Khan Conditions.