Beet

Plant Characteristics

Cultivation

Scientific Names

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Read about Beet in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Beet. A set of garden vegetables, grown for the fleshy roots and a few sorts for the thickened midribs; and some kinds in the ornamental garden for the highly colored foliage. There are 4 or 5 species of the genus Beta, which are sometimes cultivated under the name of beet, but Beta vulgaris, Linn., is the only one of practical importance. From it all our common garden varieties are derived. According to DeCandolle, the aboriginal slender-rooted species is found in sandy soil, and especially near the sea, throughout southern Europe, and on nearly all the coasts of the Mediterranean. It also occurs as far eastward as the Caspian Sea and Persia. "Everything shows that its cultivation does not date from more than two or three centuries before the Christian era." It is now highly improved, principally in the one direction of large and succulent roots, and is much esteemed in all civilized countries. See Beta. The beet grows at a low temperature and thrives best, therefore, in the cooler parts of the country. It is also an important winter crop at the South and an early spring crop at the North. The young plants will stand light frosts and after two weeks will stand fairly heavy frosts. With the extension of glasshouse gardening, beets have come to be one of the important greenhouse crops. They are not usually made a main crop, however, but are grown between other crops, such as lettuce, beans, or even tomatoes. They are sown very thick and when the young plants begin to crowd, they are thinned out and the thinning sold for greens. As beets thrive best at relatively low temperatures, they may first be grown in a lettuce-house or other greenhouse having a temperature of 60° to 70°, rather than in a house piped for tomatoes or cucumbers. The beet is grown exclusively from seed. Most table- beet seed for use in the United States is produced in Europe. It is possible, of course, for any gardener to grow his own seed, but in order to do this the roots must be taken up before the crown is exposed to severe frost, and carried through the winter in cool and moist but frostproof storage, and planted in the garden the second year. Seed stems run up to the height of 4 feet. When the seeds are ripe the tops are cut and put in a warm storage house to dry. When fully dry the seed is winnowed out. Seed is usually sown where the crop is to grow, although the plants are easily transplanted. The transplanting is sometimes undertaken, especially when beets are to be grown as a catch-crop or intercrop in greenhouses. Varieties and types. Some of the most popular varietal types of the garden beet are: Bassano (Fig. 499).—Flesh white and light red mixed; an old-time early variety, now less grown than formerly. Crosby.—Slightly oblate, red flesh, excellent for general purposes, including forcing. Early Blood Turnip.—Rich, deep blood-red, flattened turnip-shape; an old and well-known sort. Edmund.— Moderate size; handsome, rounded, smooth, deep red; good grain and flavor; not quite first-early. Eclipse.— Uniformly globular, bright red; fine-grained and sweet; one of the best quick-growing early beets. Egyptian Turnip.—Tops quite small; roots fair size, rich, deep red; a standard early variety. For field culture of culinary beets, the long-rooted varieties are chiefly used. These are sown in the field as soon as the weather is settled, in rows far enough apart to allow of tillage by horse. Most of them require the entire season in which to mature. They are grown mostly for storing for winter use. They were once grown for stock, but the mangel-wurzels give much greater yields. The various types of Long and Half-long Blood beet (Fig. 500) are chiefly used for field culture. Favorite varieties of mangel-wurzels are Golden Tankard, Golden Yellow Mammoth, Mammoth Long Red. Several sorts of sugar beets, mostly imported from Germany, are being grown in divers places in America. Of chard, there are few selected varieties offered in America. The varieties of Beta vulgaris may be conveniently divided into five cultural sections, though the distinctions are somewhat arbitrary and of no fundamental importance. These sections are as follows: 1. Garden Beets. Varieties with comparatively small tops: roots of medium size, smooth, regular and fine-grained: mostly red, but sometimes whitish or yellowish. 2. Mangel-wurzels, or Mangels. Large, coarse- growing varieties, with large tops and often very large roots, the latter frequently rising some distance out of the ground; rather coarse-grained. Extensively grown for stock-feeding. See Cyclo. Amer. Agric. Vol. II, p. 539 (Root Crops). 3. Sugar-beets. Sometimes said to belong to another species, but doubtless to be classified here. Rather small-growing varieties, with medium tops: roots small to medium, usually fusiform, smooth, nearly always yellowish or whitish. See Cyclo. Amer. Agric. Vol. ll, p. 588. 4. Chard, or Swiss Chard. Varieties with comparatively large tops, broad leaf-blades and very large, succulent leaf-stems, which are cooked and eaten somewhat like asparagus. The thrifty, tender young leaves make a very excellent pot-herb. Chard has sometimes been referred to a separate species, Beta Cicla, but should be included with B. vulgaris. See Chard. 5. Foliage Beets. A race which has been developed to produce luxuriant foliage of many colors and varied markings. Of such varieties are the Brazilian, Chilian, Victoria, and Dracaena-leaved. The ribs of the leaves are usually beautifully colored. Where the leaf-blight fungus is not serious, these foliage beets make excellent borders when strong and heavy effects are desired, and they are excellent for bedding. Raised from seeds, as other beets are; roots may be kept over winter. Cultivation. Young beets constitute one of the most important early crops in truck-gardening. Many acres of them are grown near all the city markets, and as they bear transportation well, they are often grown at comparatively remote places. Large quantities are shipped early from Norfolk, Va., and from other southern points to northern markets. Like all root crops, the beet needs a loose, light, fresh, clean, rich soil which must be in the best condition of tillage. No fermenting manure should be used, but instead fully rotten barn manure, with some good potash fertilizer. Light applications of nitrate of soda often produce marked beneficial effects. The seed for the first crop is sown early in spring, as soon as the soil can be well worked. When intensive gardening is practised, the drills may be as close as 1 foot apart, m which case the young beets are thinned to 6 inches apart in the row. But in ordinary gardening, it will be found most convenient to run the rows 2 to 3 feet apart, allowing cultivation with the horse. The plants in such rows can be left 4 inches apart at thinning time. The thinning is done when the young plants are large enough to be pulled for "greens," for which purpose they find a ready market. Beets are also grown in quantities as a fall crop, and are stored for winter use. When this is to be done, the seed is sown in June, and the plantation is managed in all respects like the spring sowing. When the young roots are ready for the early market, they are pulled and tied in bunches of five or six. The fall crop is pulled soon after the first frost, the tops are removed, and the roots stored in pits or root cellars. Marketing. Greenhouse beets and early beets are usually bunched for market, three to six together, according to size. They are bunched together tightly with a string about the tops. All beets should be thoroughly washed before marketing. Considerable quantities of late beets and field-grown stock are sold in bulk, like potatoes. In this case the tops are cut off. Late-grown beets may be stored over winter in the same manner as potatoes. They are often buried in the fields in pits, but may be kept in a good cellar or storage house. The yield of mature beets varies from 200 to 500 bushels to an acre, 300 being an average yield. Insects and diseases. There are many species of insects that feed upon beets, but flea beetles are about the only ones of importance. These may be poisoned by spraying with paris green or arsenate of lead, and they are driven away in many cases by the use of bordeaux mixture which is also the most important preventive of leaf- spot. This leaf-spot is perhaps the worst disease which attacks beets, but this is more common upon the sugar- beets in the field than upon the more common varieties. The potato scab, very common on potatoes, is found also on beets, and as this disease lives in the soil from year to year, it is a bad practice to grow beets after a crop of potatoes. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

? Beet
Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris
Plant Info
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Caryophyllales Family: Chenopodiaceae Genus: Beta Species: B. vulgaris
Binomial name
Beta vulgaris Carolus Linnaeus

Beta vulgaris, commonly known as beet or beetroot, is a flowering plant species in the family Chenopodiaceae. Several cultivars are valued around the world as edible root vegetables, fodder (mangel) and sugar-producing sugar beet.

Description

Beta vulgaris is a herbaceous biennial or rarely perennial plant with leafy stems growing to 1-2 m tall. The leaves are heart-shaped, 5-20 cm long on wild plants (often much larger in cultivated plants). The flowers are produced in dense spikes, each flower very small, 3-5 mm diameter, green or tinged reddish, with five petals; they are wind-pollinated. The fruit is a cluster of hard nutlets.

Taxonomy

Three subspecies are recognised:

• Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima. Sea beet. North-West Europe. Plant smaller, to 80 cm tall; root not swollen.
• Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris. Europe. Plant larger, to 2 m tall; with a rounded fleshy taproot. The ancestor of the cultivated beets (not subsp. maritima, as sometimes stated)Template:Dubious. Var. Ruba is the red beet.
• Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla - see Chard

Uses

Food

Spinach beet leaves are eaten as pot herb. Young leaves of the garden beet are sometimes used similarly. The midribs of Swiss chard are eaten boiled while the whole leaf blades are eaten as spinach beet.

In Africa the whole leaf blades are usually prepared with the midribs as one dish.

The leaves and stems of young plants are steamed briefly and eaten as a vegetable; older leaves and stems are stir-fried and have a flavour resembling taro leaves.

The usually deep-red roots of garden beet are eaten boiled either as a cooked vegetable, or cold as a salad after cooking and adding oil and vinegar. A large proportion of the commercial production is processed into boiled and sterilised beets or into pickles. In Eastern Europe beet soup, such as Cold borscht, is a popular dish. Yellow-coloured garden beets are grown on a very small scale for home consumption.

Beetroot can be peeled, steamed, and then eaten warm with butter as a delicacy; cooked, pickled, and then eaten cold as a condiment; or peeled, shredded raw, and then eaten as a salad. It is also common in Australia and New Zealand for pickled beetroot to be consumed on a burger.

Garden beet juice is a popular health food. Betanins, obtained from the roots, are used industrially as red food colourants, e.g. to improve the colour of tomato paste, sauces, desserts, jams and jellies, ice cream, sweets and breakfast cereals.

Medicine

The roots and leaves have medicinal uses.

The Romans used beetroot as a treatment for fevers and constipation, amongst other ailments. Apicius in De re coquinaria gives five recipes for soups to be given as a laxative, three of which feature the root of beet. Hippocrates advocated the use of beet leaves as binding for wounds.

Since Roman times, beetroot juice has been considered an aphrodisiac. It is a rich source of the mineral boron, which plays an important role in the production of human sex hormones. Field Marshall Montgomery is reputed to have exhorted his troops to 'take favours in the beetroot fields', a euphemism for visiting prostitutes. From the Middle Ages, beetroot was used as a treatment for a variety of conditions, especially illnesses relating to digestion and the blood. Platina recommended taking beetroot with garlic to nullify the effects of 'garlic-breath'.

Today the beetroot is still championed as a universal panacea. One of the most controversial examples is the official position of the South African Health Minister on the treatment of AIDS. Dr. Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, Health Minister under Thabo Mbeki, has been nicknamed 'Dr. Beetroot' for promoting beets and other vegetables over antiretroviral AIDS medicines, which she considers toxic.

Other uses

Forms with strikingly coloured, large leaves are grown as ornamentals.

Beets are used as a food plant by the larvae of a number of Lepidoptera species — see List of Lepidoptera which feed on Beet.

Cultivation

Main article: List of beet diseases

A selection of Beta vulgaris, known as beet, at a grocery store.

Numerous cultivars have been selected and bred for several different characteristics. For example, the "earthy" taste of some beet cultivars comes from the presence of the chemical compound geosmin. Researchers have not yet answered whether beets produce geosmin themselves, or whether it is produced by symbiotic soil microbes living in the plant. Nevertheless, breeding programs can produce cultivars with low geosmin levels yielding flavours more acceptable to shoppers.

Major cultivar groups include:

• Fodder beet wurzel or mangold used as animal fodder.
• Sugar beet grown for sugar.
• Chard, a beet which has been bred for leaves instead of roots and is used as a leaf vegetable.
• Beetroot or table beet (or, in the 19th century, "blood turnip") used as a root vegetable. Notable cultivars in this group include:
  • Albina Vereduna, a white variety.
  • Bull's Blood, an open-pollinated variety originally from Britain, known for its dark red foliage. It is grown principally for its leaves, which add color to salads.
  • Burpee's Golden, a beet with orange-red skin and yellow flesh.
  • Chioggia, an open-pollinated variety originally grown in Italy. The concentric rings of its red and white roots are visually striking when sliced. As a heritage variety, Chioggia is largely unimproved and has relatively high concentrations of geosmin.
  • Detroit Dark Red has relatively low concentrations of geosmin, and is therefore a popular commercial cultivar in the US.
  • India Beet is not that sweet compared to Western beet.
  • Lutz Greenleaf, a variety with a red root and green leaves, and a reputation for maintaining its quality well in storage.
  • Red Ace, the principal variety of beet found in U.S. supermarkets, typical for its bright red root and red-veined green foliage.

Properties

Salad of baby beet, sun-dried tomato and tuna

Beta vulagris roots contain significant amounts of vitamin C, whilst the leaves are an excellent source of vitamin A. They are also high in folate, soluble and insoluble dietary fibre and antioxidants. It is among the sweetest of vegetables, containing more sugar even than carrots or sweet corn. The content of sugar in beetroot is no more than 10%, in the sugar beet it is typically 15 to 20%.

An average sized cup (225.8 grams) of sliced beets will contain:

• Food energy 31 Cal (130 kJ)
• Carbohydrate 8.5 g
• Dietary fiber 1.5 g
• Folate 53.2 µg
• Phosphorus 32 mg
• Potassium 259 mg
• Protein 1.5 g

Beets, like kale, spinach, carrots and turnips, can be a source of nitrates and should not be fed to infants under 6 months of age.

Beetroots are rich in the nutrient betaine. Betaine supplements, manufactured as a byproduct of sugar beet processing, are prescribed to lower potentially toxic levels of homocysteine (Hcy), a naturally occurring amino acid that can be harmful to blood vessels thereby contributing to the development of heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease.

Red colouring

The colour of red beetroot is due to a a variety of betalain pigments, unlike most other red plants, such as red cabbage, which contain anthocyanin pigments. The composition of different betalain pigments can vary, giving breeds of beetroot which are yellow or other colors in addition to the familiar deep red. Some of the betalains in beets are betanin, isobetanin, probetanin, and neobetanin (the red to violet ones are known collectively as betacyanin). Other pigments contained in beet are indicaxanthin and vulgaxanthins (yellow to orange pigments known as betaxanthins).

Betacyanin in beetroot may cause red urine and feces in some people who are unable to break it down. This is called beeturia.

The pigments are contained in cell vacuoles. Beetroot cells are quite unstable and will 'leak' when cut, heated, or when in contact with air or sunlight. This is why red beetroots leave a purple stain. Leaving the skin on when cooking, however, will maintain the integrity of the cells and therefore minimise leakage.

History

Although beet remains have been excavated in the Third dynasty Saqqara pyramid at Thebes, Egypt, and four charred beet fruits were found in the Neolithic site of Aartswoud in the Netherlands, it is difficult to determine whether these are domesticated or wild forms of B. vulgaris. However Zohary and Hopf note that beet is "linguistically well identified." They state the earliest written mention of the beet comes from 8th century BC Mesopotamia; the Greek Peripatetic Theophrastus later describes the beet as similar to the radish. "Roman and Jewish literary sources indicate that already in the 1st century BC domestic beet was represented in the Mediterranean basin by leafy forms (chard) and very probably also by beetroot cultivars."With the imposition of the blockade of the continent during the Napoleonic Wars there was an impetus to develop beet for their sugar content.Template:Fact

External links

• PROTAbase on Beta vulgaris
• Beta vulgaris craca - Plants For a Future Database entry
• Stephen Nottingham (2004) (e-book). Beetroot. http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Stephen_Nottingham/beetroot.htm. 
• "Professor upbeat about unappreciated root crop" - general information about beets (UW article)
• Sorting Beta names - multilingual listing of the Beta species
• Beet recipes - 66 recipes exhibiting the range of beet uses
• Nutrition facts