No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The microbiological, physical and chemical changes which occur in stored, harvested sugarcane were studied in Jamaica and the United Kingdom. The degree of deterioration was proportional to time of storage, and was revealed by a statistically significant reduction in sucrose content. Other symptoms included a fall in pH, and increases in reducing sugars, dextran, viscosity, and microbial count. Cut cane was universally infected with Leuconostoc mesenteroides, which reached a maximum count of 107 to 108 organisms per ml. juice within 3 to 4 days of harvest. Counts of other microorganisms were generally insignificant, except for occasional lactobacilli. A new dextran-forming species was named Lactobacillus confusus. Microorganisms isolated from deteriorated cane were screened for their ability to cause deterioration of a sterile, synthetic cane juice. L. mesenteroides strains were the most deteriogenic, but attempts to reproduce the symptoms of "sour" cane by inoculation of this organism into cut cane were only partially successful. L. mesenteroides was present in the soil and the epiphytic flora of the stalk. The principal vector of infection appeared to be the cutters' machete, especially in wet weather. Cane harvested by a chopper machine deteriorated more rapidly than hand-cut whole-stalks. Economic losses due to deterioration of harvested cane were estimated to be 9.2% of the initial recoverable sugar for the 1969 crop at Frome Estate, Jamaica. Dextran content was a useful indicator of cane biodeterioration. The dextran content of mill juices was correlated with rainfall, and significant correlations were obtained between dextran content and viscosity of mill syrups and the amount of sugar lost in final molasses; it also caused the formation of elongated crystals. Attempts to control sour cane by chemical and physical methods were unsuccessful, and it was concluded that the only solution is to mill cane within 24 hours of harvest. A novel method for removal of dextran from mill juices by enzymic treatment with dextranase was developed and patented.

This study investigates the possibilities for totally plant-based agriculture in England and Wales and assesses the impacts of this shift in food production. The world food situation, increasing pressure on resources for food production, and health problems apparently related to western-style diets all suggest change is necessary. Plant-based agriculture is a possible alternative worthy of investigation. The general research approach was a technology assessment incorporating a literature review on agricultural and dietary issues; the construction of a novel cropping scheme for England and Wales; a Delphi study on developments in dairy farming; a relevance tree to establish the areas of impact of the shift; and a single farm case study to establish its potential for changing to crop production.

No description available.

CHAPTER 1. The problems of the producer of malting quality barley and in particular those of the Scottish farmer are discussed and the approach outlined. CHAPTER 2. A review of the many conflicting theories of the origin and evolution of cultivated barleys is made and an evolutionary pathway suggested which combines the more recent theories. CHAPTER 3. The growth and maturation of the barley grain and plant are described. CHAPTER 4. The genotypic variability of plant characters having only an indirect bearing on Malting Quality is discussed and the mode of inheritance of the characters outlined. CHAPTER 5. The. genotypic variability of those characters which bear directly on malting quality are described in-detail. In particular dormancy and its closely related phenomenon water-sensitivity are shown to be varietal in character and to be distributed within the plant population of any one field at harvest to significantly varying degrees. CHAPTER 6. The techniques employed in breeding malting barley are described. CHAPTER 7. The phenotypic variability and in particular .dormancy and water-sensitivity of barleys is discussed. CHAPTER 8. The relationship between phenotypic and genotypic variability is discussed and statistical techniques for separating the components of the variability are described. CHAPTER 9. It is shown that practices existing in the malting industry for tie assessment of the usefulness of barley render the results almost meaningless. It is shown that by altering the position of the corns during the test, the temperature of incubation by a few degrees F. and the initial oxygen tension of the water applied, a barley can be classified as good or bad malting barley almost at will. Standard germination tests as recommended by the Institute ox Brewing and European Brewing Convention are shown to be unreliable. A new ideal test in which the conditions are closely controlled and in which the oxygen is not limiting is described and recommended for adoption. CHAPTER 10. It is shown that barleys grown on particular soil associations have characteristic recovery rates from dormancy. CHAPTER 11 Additional proof for the hypothesis explaining the action of dormancy is presented, which enables recommendations to be made for the harvesting, drying and storing of malting barley without loss of quality. Final proof is obtained from an experiment in which the activation energies of the recoveries from dormancy and water-sensitivity are shown to be very similar CHAPTER 12. Genetical, cultural and post-harvest methods of improving the ability of the Scottish farmer to grow malting barley of good quality are discussed. It is concluded that by adoption of these methods sufficient malting barley of good quality can be produced in Scotland for the needs of the malting industry, thus saving the malster up to 50% of the cost of -the raw material and helping the farmer to reduce the quantity of barleys "imported" from England and abroad.