Sugar beets were successfully grown in Arkansas’ Delta region
with high root yields. Further work will support experimental design
to screen varieties and cultivation conditions for optimal production.
Minimally processed raw juice and JPM were readily
fermented to ethanol in high yield, indicating a potentially low
cost, ready-to-use fermentation feedstock. The flocculating yeast
worked at least as well as the conventional yeast in all fermentation
processes tested, warranting further investigation for applying
continuous fermentation to sugar beet feedstocks. Our results support
energy beets as a suitable advanced bioenergy crop for producing
industrial fermentation sugars in the Mid-South of the U.S.