Binomial Name:Beta vulgaris
Varieties - Boltardy, Bull's Blood, Burpee Golden, Chiogga, Crimson Globe, Crosby Egyptian, Cylindra, Detroit Dark Red, Early Wonder Tall Top, Green Top Bunching, Ruby Queen.
Conditions - prefers well-drained sandy loam to silt loam soil, high in organic matter, with pH between 6.5 and 7 and free of large stones.
-Good soil structure is important because growth is improved by good soil aeration. Beets grow poorly in acid soil.
-They tolerate low fertility but require consistent moisture. Do not plant in soils with pH less than 6.0. Beets use boron inefficiently. Boron is less available in soils with high pH and high organic matter.
-Corky black areas in the roots indicate boron deficiency. Biennial grown as an annual. Some varieties have red stems and leaf venation.
Planting - The wrinkled “seedball” usually contains two to four viable seeds, making it necessary to thin to 3- to 4-inch spacings if you plan to harvest young, small or cylindrical-shaped roots, or 6-inch spacings for larger roots for winter storage.
-Begin thinning when seedlings are about 4 to 5 inches tall, and eat the thinnings. Cut rather than pull plants when thinning to avoid disturbing roots of other plants.
-Some "monogerm" varieties have only one seed per fruit. Some seed companies remove seeds from the seedball.
-Unlike most root crops, beets can be started inside or in cold frames and transplanted into the garden.Use floating row covers to discourage insects early in the season.
-Keep well-weeded. Competition and uneven watering can make beets stringy and tough.Beets are closely related to Swiss chard and spinach.
-Avoid following these crops in rotation.Beets tolerate average to low fertility. Too much nitrogen will encourage top growth at the expense of root development.
-Best color and flavor develop under cool conditions and bright sun.When beets mature in warm weather, they are lighter colored, have less sugar and have more pronounced color zoning in the roots.
-Fluctuating weather conditions produce white zone rings in roots.Beets are biennials. Normally, they produce an enlarged root during their first season.
Pests and diseases
1.Beet Leafminer- Affects the leaves.Small whitish maggots feed between the leaf surfaces. Damage appears as winding trails in leaf tissue.
As mines enlarge, they may merge and from large, light-colored blotched areas. Feeding lasts 1 to 3 weeks. They may pupate in the leaf or in the soil and 1/4" long, gray, flies emerge in 2 to 4 weeks.
Control - Remove and dispose of infested leaves. Floating row covers may screen out the fly. Control host weeds like lambs quarter to reduce local populations.
2.Leaf hoppers- Yellowish green, wedge shaped, winged adults and their nymphs feed on plant foliage by piercing leaves and sucking on sap. On severe infestations, leaves may become crinkled and curled. They also spread virus diseases.
Control - Control weed patches where pests may hide. Sprays are not generally useful for light populations. Malathion, Diazinon, and Sevin may offer some control.
3.Flea Beetle- Small 1/16 brown jumping beetle. Causes leaves to have a shot-hole appearance.
Control - Sevin, Diazinon or Rotenone are effective. Spray early for best control. Allow 3 days between sevin application and harvest for root consumption.
-Allow 14 days between sevin application and harvest for leaf consumption.
-Allow 1 day between rotenone application and harvest. Pesticide use and recommendations for various areas are constantly changing. Check with agent or on the can for recommendations and instructions.
4.Aphids- Small green, red, black or white sucking insects less than 3/16" long. Aphids live by sucking plant fluids which causes curled or twisted, yellow leaves. The aphids damage sugar beet by sucking plant sap, retarding growth and causing the leaves to turn yellow.
-Both the bean aphid and the green peach aphid have many natural enemies, such as lady beetles, lacewings, syrphid larvae, predacious hemipterans, and braconid parasites.
-Leaves generally become sticky from the honeydew substance they excrete.
Control - The best form of control is to apply insecticides in areas of heavy infestation.With time, aphids may be controlled by predator insects such as ladybugs and lace wings.
-Treat with Insecticidal soaps or a strong stream of water. Sevin, diazinon, malathion, and rotenone are also effective.
-Allow 3 days between sevin application and harvest for root consumption.
-Allow 14 days between sevin application and harvest for leaf consumption.
-Allow 1 day between rotenone application and harvest.
-Allow 14 days between diazinon application and harvest.
5.Damping off-Seedlings develop blackened stems, wilt and die.
Control - Rotate crop location each year. Use treated seeds.
6.Curly top- Young plants die quickly. Young leaves roll inward, pucker, develop blister-like thickenings, veins appear clear and swell, then wilt.
-The tap root is covered with many fine rootlets.
-The tap root is covered with many fine rootlets.
Control - Leafhoppers spread the curly top virus. Remove infected plants and control weeds which harbor leaf-hopper. Crops planted and harvested early often escape leaf-hopper flights.
7.Alternaria Leaf Spot-This disease is characterized by lesions that develop on the leaves and are circular to irregularly shaped, dark brown to black, frequently zonate, and may be covered by fungal growth and conidia.
Control - Experts find that it is not necessary to have control measures.
8.Armyworms
9.Beetle Leafhopper
9.Beetle Leafhopper
10.Beet mosaic-This disease is characterized by yellow spots that develop on young leaves and are circular with sharply defined margins.
-These spots often appear as yellow rings with green centers.
Control - The best form of control is to avoid planting in infested fields or fields where wild varieties of beets have been grown.
11.Beet petiole borer - Plants infected with the beet petiole borer have punctured petioles and leaf veins. Warty growths develop at the site of many of these punctures, which often turn darker than the surrounding area.
12.Beet Western Yellows -This disease is characterized by mild yellow spotting of interveinal areas, most often at the leaf tips on older plants.
-As the disease progresses, the yellowing becomes more intense, and more of the interveinal tissue turns yellow. Older infected leaves become thickened, brittle, and almost completely yellow except for green areas adjacent to the veins.
Control - The best form of control is to use resistant cultivars where available and separate new plantings from infected crops by as much space and time as possible.
13.Beet Yellow Net - This disease is characterized by one to several scattered yellow spots on a leaf blade and uniform yellowing of veins and veinlets occurs.
14.Beet Yellow Stunt - This disease is characterized by severe twisting, cupping, and increased leaf growth of one or two leaves of intermediate age.
-Petioles are shortened and the leaves become spotted and yellow with the youngest leaves becoming dwarfed, malformed, twisted, and slightly spotted.
Control - The best form of control is to avoid planting in clean fields and those free from large areas of weeds.
15.Beet Yellow Vein- This disease is characterized by dwarfing and vein yellowing of young leaves of infected plants causing the main vein to turn yellow.
Dwarfing usually occurs on only one side of the plant, causing a stunted, asymmetric growth pattern.
16.Black Root-This disease is characterized by plants that show yellowing and wilting of foliage and unthrifty top growth.
-Lateral rootlets are produced in abundance, many appearing shriveled, black, and dry.
Control - The best forms of control include using resistant cultivars where available, rotating crops with something other than sugar beet, maintaining well-drained soil, and controlling weed hosts.
17.Blister Beetles- The adult beetles injure sugar beet by feeding on the leaves leaving only the petiole portions of the plant.
18.Carrion Beetles- Carrion beetles typically eat the edges of leaves, leaving numerous projections around the leaves.
-The adults cause some damage to sugar beet, but heavier damage is done by the larvae at thinning time, usually along the edges of beet fields.
Control - Destroying weed hosts along ditches, fence rows, and roadsides where carrion beetles overwinter helps to reduce the insect populations.
19.Cercospora Leaf spot- This disease is characterized by spots that develop on the leaves that are nearly circular and are tan to light brown with dark brown to reddish purple borders.
-Blighted leaves soon collapse and fall to the ground but remain attached to the crown. The heart leaves remain green and are less severely affected or lesion-free.
Control - The best forms of control are to use resistant cultivars, a two to three year rotation with nonhosts, and clean plowing practices to turn under crop residues.
20.Crusting - In crusted soil, seedlings fail to emerge, or they grow parallel to the soil surface below the crust and emerge through cracks or cause upheavals of soil plates.
21.Downy mildew - The fungus attacks young heart leaves of the crown and creates small, distorted, light green, thickened, puckered leaves with downward-curled margins.
22.Cutworms
23.Dodder
23.Dodder
24.Fusarium Yellows- The older leaves show yellowing between the larger veins and become dry, brittle, and heaped around the crown.
25.Grasshoppers- The insects feed on sugar beet leaves and in heavy infestations they will attack the leaf petioles late in the season.
-Certain cultural practices, such as plowing, disking, and harrowing, can destroy grasshopper eggs in the soil and reduce the population of the insects.
Control - Insecticides available for control of grasshoppers on sugar beet are diazinon, malathion, parathion, and carbaryl.
Harvesting - Beets can be harvested whenever they grow to the desired size. About 60 days are required for beets to reach 1 1/2 inches in diameter, the size often used for cooking, pickling or canning as whole beets.
-Beets enlarge rapidly to 3 inches with adequate moisture and space. With most varieties, beets larger than 3 inches may become tough and fibrous.
-Beets may be stored in a polyethylene bag in a refrigerator for several weeks. Beets also may be stored in outdoor pits if the beets are dug before the ground freezes in the fall. Cut off the tops of the beets one inch above the roots.
-Beets store best 0°C and 95 percent humidity. Do not allow them to freeze.When harvesting beets, separate the green tops from the roots leaving an inch of stem on the beet. Beets larger than 3 inches in diameter are often fibrous and woody.
-Beet greens are packed with nutritional value but must be prepared separately. Upon storage the greens will quickly draw the moisture from the root greatly reducing flavor and the beets will become shriveled.
-Leave one inch stem and the taproot intact to retain moisture and nutrients. After separating, beets store well for about a week in perforated plastic bags in the refrigerator. Use beets while they are still firm and fresh.
Seeds storage - Saving beet seeds is a two-year project because this biennial doesn't flower and produce its seed clusters until the next growing season.
-Tie up the stalks to stakes when they become floppy, look for bloosoms in June and July, and harvest the seeds in August.
-Cut off the tops and allow them to dry under cover, then strip off the seeds. Restrict yourself to a single variety each year if you will be saving seeds, beet seeds have a talent for cross-pollinatin over distances of a mile or more.
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