Article
Article
Sugarbeet
Article By:
Stewart, Dewey Crops Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland.
Lewellen, R. T. Agriculture Research Station, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Salinas, California.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.665400
A biennial beet plant, Beta vulgaris (order Caryophyllales), characterized by a white root and cultivated for the high sugar content of the root. The sugarbeet (often spelled as sugar beet) was developed in modern times to fill the need for a sugar crop that could be grown in temperate climates. During Napoleon's struggle to control Europe in the early 1800s, ports were closed to English ships and to colonial trade that had been the source of cane sugar from tropical regions. The desire for sugar and the urge to be self-sufficient in the production of this food motivated the development of the sugarbeet and the establishment of a beet sugar industry in central Europe. See also: Caryophyllales; Horticultural crops; Renewable resources; Root (botany); Sugar; Sugar crops
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
