Weeds are an important part of the field ecosystem even though farmers perceive them only as a nuisance. However, in the agricultural landscape, weeds serve as a food source for wildlife and other organisms. The aim of this work is to evaluate the composition of weed vegetation in sugar beet stands in terms of the provision of ecosystem services and thus partially change their perception in such stands. During a twoyear evaluation, 36 weed species were found; these were mainly dominated by late spring weed species. In terms of biological relevance, weed species in sugar beet stands are less attractive to associated organisms, the dominating weed species have a relevance of up to 100 associated species. Weed species with higher relevance include Cirsium arvense, Galium aparine, Chenopodium album, Chenopodium strictum, Chenopodium album subsp. pedunculare, Chenopodium suecicum, Lamiumpurpureum, Polygonum aviculare and Stellaria media. Weed biomass and seeds provide food for insects, herbivorous mammals, and seed eating birds. The abundance of plant food is therefore the basis for a functioning food web. Overgrown sugar beet yields less, but supports populations of soil microorganisms, earthworms, seed eating beetles and birds. The biological importance and ecosystem functions of weeds need to be considered and quantified in a similar manner as when trying to quantify weed damage.

Salt stress has become a significant issue affecting crop growth, and China has abundant saline soil resources. Sugar beet, as a salt-tolerant crop, efficiently utilizes limited land resources. However, severe salt stress can harm the normal growth of sugar beet. To investigate how to improve its salt tolerance, we conducted a hydroponic experiment using Shuangfeng 8 with five treatments: GABA addition (G + S), 3-MPA addition (T) under salt stress (S) conditions, nutrient solution only (CK), and GABA addition (G) as controls. The results indicate that exogenous GABA pretreatment can mitigate reactive oxygen species damage to membrane lipids and stabilize membrane structure by enhancing antioxidant enzyme activity. It also increased the activity of key enzymes in GABA metabolism and GABA content, providing essential substrates for the tricarboxylic acid cycle. This enhanced the activity of key enzymes in the tricarboxylic acid cycle, ensuring cellular energy supply. GABA can link the tricarboxylic acid cycle with nitrogen metabolism, increasing the activity of nitrogen metabolism enzymes and promoting the synthesis of essential amino acids like glutamate. Ultimately, this improves gas exchange and fluorescence parameters, stabilizing photosynthesis, maintaining normal growth of sugar beet under salt stress, and increasing dry matter accumulation. Reverse validation using GABA inhibitors resulted in significantly higher MAD and ROS levels in sugar beet. Antioxidant enzyme activity, GABA content, photosynthetic fluorescence parameters, and dry matter accumulation were lower than in the treatment with exogenous GABA, further suggesting that exogenous GABA at 1.5 mM L-1 can effectively alleviate salt stress damage in sugar beet.

Global warming is contributing to an increase in the frequency of extreme climate events, leading to more frequent droughts that pose significant abiotic stressors affecting the growth and yield of sugar beet. To address the detrimental effects of drought stress on sugar beet seedlings, this study simulated a drought environment and examined the impact of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) symbiosis on seedling growth. The findings revealed that AMF inoculation under drought conditions enhanced the photosynthesis rate and increased the content of photosynthetic pigments in the leaves of sugar beet. Additionally, it effectively mitigated cell membrane damage in the seedlings, elevated the levels of osmoregulatory substances, and enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities in both leaves and roots. The inoculation of AMF regulates the physiological processes associated with sugar beet growth, alleviates the adverse effects of drought stress, and promotes seedling development. Consequently, AMF can be regarded as a valuable bioregulator in sugar beet cultivation under drought conditions, providing significant practical benefits for improving sugar beet yield.

The marc content of sugar beet denotes the insoluble cell wall compounds that have always been used as animal feed. In the foreseeable future, they will be used to generate power for sugar factories to reach a carbon-free sugar manufacturing process. To monitor the marc content of beet delivered to sugar factories in Germany, 1042 sugar beet samples were taken during the campaigns in 2018/19, 2019/20, and 2020/21. The average marc content was 3.87% in 2018, 3.89% in 2019, and 4.01% in 2020. The marc content was slightly lower on light and heavy soils than the prevailing loam soils, probably because of irrigation. With higher water availability during the season, the marc content was lower. The harvest date and the length of the storage period did not influence the marc content. Cultivars differed greatly in marc content, but no clear relationship existed to their sugar content. As the marc content of sugar beet affects the susceptibility to damage during harvest and loading, the infestation with pathogens during storage and thus storages losses, and influences the first processing steps as well, the marc content should be monitored to ensure that it does not continue to decrease any further.

The objective of this research is to examine the use of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC), obtained during the production of sugar from sugar beets, and to stabilize subgrades beneath highway pavements or to stabilize foundations built on loess (windblown silt). The research also aims to permanently capture the carbon from PCC in soil. The experimental process involved the collection of representative loess samples, the addition of variable percentages of PCC, and conducting laboratory experiments on compacted PCC soil mixes to evaluate the effect of PCC on subgrades beneath pavement and foundations beneath buildings. Samples of PCC were obtained from the Amalgamated Sugar Corporation, located 187 km away from Pocatello. In addition, soil was collected from local sources in which saturation collapse and damage have occurred in the past. Unconfined compressive strength tests, which index subgrade bearing failures, were performed on both untreated and PCC-treated soils to evaluate the effect of PCC in stabilizing pavement subgrades and foundations as well as sequestering carbon. The experimental test results revealed a significant average increase of 10% to 28% in the strength of loess samples stabilized with 5% PCC compared to the native soil. The chemical composition and microstructure of PCC were further analyzed through energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tests. EDX analysis unveiled a carbon content of 9% by weight in PCC, which could contribute to the carbon footprint when it breaks down. Additionally, SEM images displayed an unsymmetrical and sub-rounded microstructure of PCC particles. Based on these findings, the study suggests that utilizing PCC could improve the resistance of loess to saturation collapse and potentially reduce carbon emissions associated with cement or lime production while offering an opportunity to use PCC in soil application.