Red girl Beetroot

I don’t know about you, but in my childhood, beets were not held in high esteem. Now I like this simple beetroot salad with garlic for the content of nutrients and the sharpness of taste. As a child, cakes were much cuter. The turning point in my attitude to beets was the fairy tale film “Morozko”, in which Marfushechka rubbed her cheeks with this vegetable for a blush. After the film screening, although the root crop did not become a favorite, I no longer denied salads with it, prudently leaving a little “for makeup”. Now, after many years, I understand that beets are not only suitable for vinaigrette and herring under a fur coat, but smearing her cheeks is not such a stupid idea!

Eastern guest

Today, in order to prepare a dish that includes beets, it is not at all necessary to boil for a long time, then peel the “beetroots”, staining the hands in a persistent red color. You can just come to the store and buy a root crop ready for use. But did you know that inexpensive, healthy and now familiar beetroot hundreds of years ago was a delicacy?
Like many plants, beets appeared in our latitudes thanks to merchants who brought wild beet seeds from the East and India to Babylon, and then to Ancient Rome and Greece. By the way, initially only the leaves of the vegetable were eaten, and the roots were used to make medicines.
It is believed that in ancient times people ate leaf beets, or chard. It is still cultivated as a vegetable plant. The chard root grows no thicker than 2-3 cm, but its leaves are very large, juicy.
Be that as it may, both the Greeks and the Romans fell in love with beets. What is there! She received honors that were hardly ever given to other plants! This vegetable could only be on the table of a wealthy person, because it was not cheap. The Greeks made offerings to the gods in the form of silver figurines of beets or real root crops on a silver platter. Why such reverence? Most likely, because both the root crop and the leaves are rich in vitamins and useful trace elements, and regular consumption of beets in food has a positive effect on health.
Already by the beginning of our era, cultural forms of beets appeared, which were entirely edible, by about the 10th century. they became known in Rus', and after 3-4 centuries they "conquered" Europe.
In the middle of the XVIII century. It turned out that beets contain sugar. Now this fact does not surprise anyone, many are accustomed to buying it in bags. And in the XI century. Cane sugar was imported to Russia from abroad, and it cost so much!! Naturally, I wanted to get more sugar, and spend less on it. Beets in solving this problem came in handy.
The work of breeders began in 1747, when the scientist Andreas Marggraf determined the sugar content of beets. Another 50 years passed, and a factory appeared in Lower Silesia, where sugar was no longer produced from cane, but from beets.
Even politics has contributed to the history of sugar beets. The fact is that Napoleon was not happy with the success of England in the sugar cane trade, and therefore the emperor set an unprecedented bonus - one million francs - to anyone who comes up with a cheap way to produce sugar. And although sugar beets were bred during the life of Napoleon, Bonaparte did not live to the moment when sugar production was put on stream.

Beet of our time

Beet (lat. Béta) is a genus of one-, two- and perennial herbaceous plants of the Amaranth family. Its most famous representatives are common beet (table), sugar beet and fodder beet.
The gastronomic plus of table beet is that it goes well with different products. In the summer, a light and tasty version of okroshka is made from it - beetroot (holodnik). And in the preparation of salads, it’s completely expanse: beets can be combined with herring, nuts, cheeses, prunes, mushrooms, olives, lemon zest and juice ... By the way, you should not clean the beets before cooking, and even more so cut them: useful vitamins and microelements.
The word "beetroot" itself has Greek roots. In Russian, it is correct to pronounce it with an emphasis on the letter Y. By the way, in the southwestern regions of Russia, beets are called the same way as we do - beetroot or beetroot. There is an opinion that the Old Slavonic word "bursh" means "beet". It is possible that the beet-based soup was named after the plant from which it was prepared.
The white roots of sugar beets contain up to 23% sugar! Who knows how much this product would cost now if it were not for beets! There is even a monument to this vegetable in Kyiv. However, what is surprising: Ukraine is in 1st place in the cultivation of beets. By the way, Belarus ranks 3rd among sugar beet producers, and Russia ranks 2nd.
Fodder beet, as its name implies, is usually eaten by animals. It happens that unscrupulous producers try to sell it under the guise of table beets. And what are the differences? Fodder beet contains more fiber and is much larger than table beet, but the taste of the latter is much better, because it is not in vain that its new varieties have been bred for many years.
We owe the origin of fodder beet to German peasants, who, as early as the 16th century. noticed the dependence of good milk yields of cows on the presence of beets in the diet of animals.
Initially, there was no official division of beets into species. But over time, each type began to be developed and improved depending on the goal: the fodder should be large, the sugar one should contain as many sugars as possible, the dining room should have excellent taste.

Carefully! Beet!

Some people should eat beets with caution. It can cause allergies - skin rashes or swelling of the respiratory tract. In this case, you should choose white table beets, which do not contain red pigments - the main allergens. For those who have heart problems, doctors do not recommend combining beets with garlic so as not to overload the blood vessels. In addition, raw beets are not the best choice for people with bowel problems.

Selected beets

How to choose a good beet? It seems that all of them, like two from a casket, are the same "from the face", more precisely, from the root crop. When choosing beets, you need to know some subtleties. To purchase a truly useful product, pay attention to certain characteristics of root crops.
Form. Beets should be oval-spherical. But if it looks like a cone, or is too elongated, this is a sign of improper cultivation or even indicates a fodder variety.
Weight. Too large fruits may indicate intensive feeding with chemical fertilizers. A normal beetroot weighs about 0.5 kg.
Color. The root crop can be dark red, burgundy and even almost purple, and the leaves can be either green with red veins or red. It is important that there are no white inclusions in the pulp.
Skin. If you plan to store beets, do not be too lazy to carefully check the appearance of the fruit. The skin should be intact, with no signs of rot. This rule applies to all vegetables and fruits.
Motherland. It is desirable to clarify where the beets came from. It accumulates salts of heavy metals, and therefore it is not recommended to eat root crops grown in ecologically unfavorable regions.
You can talk about the benefits of beets for a long time. In combination with various vegetables, prepared in various ways, it helps to improve the health of many human life systems. Beets are at their best in all respects valued in table plants. So the words addressed to Marfushka from the fairy tale after the beet “blushing”, they say, she is not a princess, but a princess, can also be attributed to the beet itself.

Beetroot grows on every continent except Antarctica.
- The ancient Greeks sacrificed beets to the god Apollo.
- In Rus', beets were baked in an oven and served with tea.
- The ancient Persians believed that beets are a symbol of gossip, quarrels and discord.
- The word "beetroot" comes from the Greek "seuklon", which means "royal".
- Beets are used in cosmetology for facial skin and hair care. Nutritious masks are made from this vegetable; it is believed that it helps to get rid of freckles and dandruff.
- In Eastern Europe, it was believed that eating beets would help protect against the plague.
- There is a belief: if a man and a woman eat one beetroot together, they will fall in love with each other.
- In beets, not only the root crop is edible, but also the leaves rich in vitamins A, C and iron.

It is one of the oldest and most widespread plants in the world. There are several species of this plant, differing not only in appearance, but also in purpose. So, and, and are, however, they have many differences, different purposes and features of cultivation.

The global importance of this crop is especially important for Ukraine, as it is in 6th place in the world in the production of sugar varieties.

The top three included France, Russia and Germany. In addition, this particular vegetable is included in the list of the most grown crops in the country. The reason for such a good growth of these crops in Ukraine is the presence of black earth and temperate climate.

A little history and the benefits of beets

All species that exist today are descended from wild beets and have been improved by breeders, each species for its own purposes. At the same time, India and the Far East are considered to be the birthplace of the plant - it was from these geographical regions that the targeted use and cultivation of the plant began.

Did you know? Historians claim that the inhabitants of Babylon were among the first to use the root crop, albeit as. The ancient Greeks, on the other hand, sacrificed crops to Apollo, in particular, this betaine vegetable. It was believed that this particular root crop contributes to youth and strength.

Initially, people ate only, throwing away the roots as inedible. Already in the 16th century, German breeders improved the plant, resulting in a division into (used in cooking) and (cattle feed).

The next stage in the development of this culture occurred in the 18th century - scientists brought out (technical culture).

It is probably because of this improvement that this red root crop has become widespread. Already in the 19th century, it began to be grown in all corners of the world, with the exception of Antarctica.

Today, there are several types of root crops in the world, and more and more farmers are wondering how white beets differ from fodder beets. This is what our article is about.

Types of beets

There are four main types of plants used by humans: table, fodder, sugar and leaf (or). All these species have the same origin - wild beet, cultivated by breeders. If you are looking for an answer to the question, what is the difference between sugar and fodder beets, read on.

Important! Sugar beet juice is very useful. It is able to remove toxins, lower cholesterol, increase the number of red blood cells in the blood and lower blood pressure very effectively. However, it is worthwhile to be careful when using the root vegetable for hypotension, urolithiasis, gout and high acidity. It is a laxative and should not be taken in excessive amounts.

The main types of plants:

Beets: differences between sugar and fodder

As is clear from the names, the sugar type of the plant is used to produce sugar (a substitute for cane sugar), and the fodder plant is used to feed livestock. Further details about the differences according to different criteria.

Important! One of the main features of sugar beets is hypoallergenicity. Even people prone to allergic reactions have nothing to fear when using the plant. But note that beet juice is not recommended to be consumed in a dose above 100 ml, even in perfect health. If you have problems with the kidneys, liver or high acidity, then it is better to reduce the consumption of the vegetable to a minimum.

Main difference

The main difference between sugar beet and fodder beet is sugar content and purpose. While the former is known for its high sucrose content, the animal variety is high in protein. It is the chemical composition of root crops that is associated with the areas of their use.

Differences in appearance

Externally, fodder beet is much different from sugar beet, so it is impossible to confuse them.

• color: red and orange shades;
• shape: round or oval;
• tops: thick tops (35-40 leaves in one rosette), the root crop sticks out from under the ground; leaves are ovate, shiny, green, glossy.

• color: white, grey, beige;
• shape: elongated;
• tops: green tops (50-60 leaves in one rosette), the fruit itself is hidden underground; leaves are smooth, green, with long petioles.

Differences in the depth of growth

Sugar beet differs from not only visually, but also by the peculiarity of planting and growth. Sugar has an elongated narrow fruit that does not appear on the surface. Unlike sugar, fodder root crops peek out from under the ground for several centimeters.

The root systems of these vegetables also have different depths. So, the white roots can go up to 3 meters deep (the plant extracts water from the depths, drought-resistant), and the orange roots do not go deeper below the root crop.

Vegetative system and requirements for growing conditions

The sugar species ripens in 140-170 days. During this period, the plant grows from a seedling to a fruiting vegetable. The sweet seedling is quite frost-resistant - the sprout germinates even at a temperature of -8 °C.

There is less fodder variety - on average it lasts 110-150 days, which is a month faster than white maturation. The plant is also frost-resistant, although its minimum is still higher - from -5 ° С.

The vegetative systems of both species are almost identical. The plant blooms in inflorescences (whorls) on thick peduncles, each of which has 2-6 small yellow-green flowers.

Usually, several plants can grow from one ball of root crops during planting.

This complicates the thinning process, however, there are special varieties. The so-called "sprout varieties" are good because their perianths do not grow to each other, which is why glomeruli do not form, and thinning does not cause significant inconvenience.

Differences in chemical value

The main value of sugar beets is up to 20% sugar in the dry residue. In fodder crops, there are many times fewer vascular-fibrous bundles, which is why there are fewer cells containing sugar. Both types contain carbohydrates (in particular, glucose, galactose, arabinose, fructose).

Did you know? Since the introduction of the sugar variety until today, the level of sugar in the root crop has been increased from 5% to 20% by weight. This amount of sucrose made it possible not only to produce a large amount of sugar, but also expanded the range of use of residues after processing the plant.

The sugar variety is low in protein, but due to its high carbohydrate content, it is more nutritious than its counterparts. At the same time, the fodder has a high protein content, including in the leaves, there are milk-producing substances, as well as fiber, vitamins and minerals. That is why the addition of beets

To achieve a good harvest from beets and tasty root crops suitable for storage over a long winter, you need to choose the right beet varieties. Moreover, it is better to give preference to domestic varieties - despite the success of American breeders, beautiful and even root crops - “foreigners” are still inferior to our beet varieties in terms of taste, yield and adaptability to growing in Russian climatic conditions.

How is fodder beet different from sugar beet?

But before listing the best varieties of beets, let's see what types of beets exist: what are table, leaf, sugar, fodder and wild beets? What variety should be planted on your site and why?

The cultivar of beetroot also includes biennial chard varieties.

The beets that we add to borscht and vinaigrette belong to a cultural species and are scientifically called table beets. It has a fleshy thick root of predominantly dark red color. The cultivated variety of beets also includes biennial varieties of leaf beet, known abroad as chard, and subspecies of common root beet:

• Asian subspecies with a poorly developed root crop;
• European subspecies (table, fodder and sugar beet varieties).

Video about beets

In addition to cultivated species, several wild-growing annual varieties of beets with a thin root are known: sprawling, large-rooted, seaside, creeping, three-columnar, intermediate, border-fruited, etc.

Let us dwell separately on those types of beets that are most often found in the fields and in private gardens.

fodder beet

Fodder beet has appeared in Russia since the 18th century and has been cultivated everywhere since then, since the inclusion of its root crops in the diet of farm animals brings many benefits. Fodder beet is considered a valuable milk-producing crop, it is indispensable for increasing milk yield in cows, improves animal productivity and litter quality, and also allows for more economical use of concentrates in winter.

Sometimes fodder beet can be passed off as table beet, it can be distinguished, first of all, by the large size of root crops. Although fodder beet contains more fiber, the table variety is still tastier and better suited for eating.

Sometimes fodder beet can be passed off as a canteen

Fodder beet can be cylindrical, conical, round and elongated-oval in shape, the color is white, raspberry, red, pink, orange and yellow. The most popular varieties: Eckendorf yellow, Titan, Timiryazevskaya one-seeded, Northern orange, Pervenets, Semi-sugar pink, hybrid Timiryazevsky 12, Marshal, Kiev pink beet, etc.

Sugar beet

These elongated white beetroots are primarily grown for sugar (modern varieties have a sugar content of up to 20%), but can also be grown for animal feed. The highest productivity of sugar beet can be achieved on chernozem soils, so it is not surprising that Ukraine ranks first in growing this variety, while Russia is in second place (mainly the southern regions), followed by Belarus. However, mainly imported varieties of sugar beet are used for cultivation, and the main share is made up of hybrids of German selection.

The highest productivity of sugar beet can be achieved on chernozem soils

Swiss chard

In European countries, chard is very widely distributed as an incredibly healthy plant, the leaves of which contain a lot of carotene, valuable acids and important trace elements, as well as vitamins, sugars and proteins. In appearance, chard resembles spinach. Its varieties differ in the color of the stems (from dark green to yellow and whitish) and in the color of the petioles (from white to pinkish and raspberry), large shiny leaves can be either even or curly.

Chard varieties popular in Europe: Bright Lights, Rhubarb Chard, Lucullus, Pink Passion, White Silver. It is not difficult to grow chard beets, they tolerate cold well, love sunlit beds and abundant watering. During the season, you can harvest several crops.

Beetroot looks like spinach

The most common productive varieties of table beets

Bright, dark red table beets have been known to us since childhood, and everyone knows that this root crop is very. Moreover, you can use not only raw or boiled beets - freshly squeezed beetroot juice, as well as beet tops, is well suited for health promotion. An additional advantage of table beet is that it is excellently stored until the next season, if you create suitable ones for it and, most importantly, choose the right variety.

In the conditions of the Russian climate, varieties of medium-ripening table beet are recommended for growing, which combine excellent taste, good keeping quality, productivity and disease resistance. Early-ripening varieties are good because they give a crop already three months after planting (and the ultra-early variety Cold-resistant - even after 60 days), but they are not intended for long-term storage. Late varieties of table beets are best stored, but they need a lot of time to ripen, not all root crops have time to ripen before frost.

Video about beet varieties

The best beet varieties by ripening time:

• among the early varieties, Detroit beets with spherical smooth fruits, red-violet sugary Egyptian beets with large flat roots, the healing variety Red Ball, as well as Barguzin, Bordeaux, Odnorostkovaya and Podzimnyaya beets are valued;
• among the varieties of medium ripeness, the beetroot Mulatka with large rounded dark red fruits of excellent taste, the beetroot Incomparable, juicy and tender Bohemia, a high-yielding variety of Bona with beautiful even root crops, the hybrid Bon-Bon, is especially distinguished;
• the best late-ripening varieties are the Dutch variety Cylinder, Ataman, Torpedo.

Of the new hybrids, the early ripe Kestrel beets with roots of an intense dark red color, very sweet, with a good presentation deserve special attention. This hybrid tolerates transportation well, keeps well until spring, is suitable for direct consumption, for processing and for bunching.

The area under beet crops in 2013 amounted to 909.2 thousand hectares (21% less than in 2012), the average yield in 2012 was 398 centners per hectare, 43.39 million tons were harvested.

With good agricultural technology, from 1 hectare in Russia, you can get 40-45 tons of sugar beet with approximately 14% of the extracted sugar and 15-20 tons of beet tops. From the same area you can get only 17 tons of potatoes or 2 tons of grain. When growing beets, spring, perennial grasses, winter cereals, beets, legumes [corn], peas, winter cereals).

When growing sugar beets, the average amount of white sugar obtained per hectare is approximately 16 million kcal in nutritional value. In comparison, the nutritional value of potatoes per hectare is determined at 13 million kcal and grain at 5 million kcal. If we additionally take into account the nutritional value of beet pulp, tops, and molasses, then the total nutritional value per unit area will be twice as much for beets as for potatoes, and 4-5 times higher than for grain.

Beets are one of the oldest plants grown by man. The birthplace of this culture is India and the Far East. It was from here that it spread to all continents.

Sugar beet - raw material for sugar production

Types of beets

There are such types of beets:

• leafy (chard);
• dining room (red);
• semi-sugar;
• sugar;
• stern.

Beet species differ from each other in morphological structure, chemical composition, requirements for growing conditions, as well as the direction of use. All of them descended from a common ancestor - the wild beet.

Chard is a biennial plant. It has a hard and inedible root. Leaves are used for food, forming a large rosette and containing a lot of protein (up to 25%). Leaf beet is a valuable leafy vegetable of the summer period, as it withstands high temperatures well, is undemanding to the soil, and contains a high percentage of useful elements and vitamins.

Table beet is an important vegetable biennial plant cultivated in all parts of the world. In the first year of life, the plant has a rosette of leaves and a root crop. In different varieties, root crops are flattened, oval, spherical or elongated. It contains a special substance - betaine, which causes various variations of red color, from raspberry to dark cherry.

Semi-sugar plant varieties are one of the varieties of fodder beet. They are distinguished by a high content of sugars, occupying an intermediate position between two common vegetable crops: sugar beets and fodder beets.

Sugar beet is one of the most common industrial crops. Up to 20% of sucrose accumulates in root crops. The main crop is directed to sugar beet production. Waste left after harvesting the crop is used in feeding livestock.

Fodder beet is an important fodder crop. This succulent feed is highly palatable, it is most effective for dairy cattle, increasing milk yield in cows and goats.

Chard - a type of beetroot

The main differences between fodder and sugar beet types

Leaves

The leaves of the sweet beet with long petioles, smooth, green, less often light green, are located on the head of the root crop in the form of a rosette. They die off and form during the entire growing season. Up to 50-60 large leaves grow on one plant, but the main load on the formation of yield lies with those that formed in June and July, they have a better developed leaf surface and a longer life expectancy.

The leaves of the fodder beet are heart-shaped, ovoid, they are more shiny and smooth and more deviated than those of the sugar variety, their total number is 20-30 percent less.

Flowers and fruits

Root crops planted the following year have flower stalks. Both types of beets have a similar structure of flowers and fruits. The flowers are inconspicuous, yellow-green, located on powerful peduncles in inflorescences - whorls. A large amount of pollen ripens in them, which makes them attractive for pollination by some insects, and the plant is also pollinated by the wind.

In whorls there are 2-6 flowers, the distance between which is insignificant. Very often, when ripe, the fruits grow with perianths to each other and form glomeruli. These are infructescences formed from several carpels. In fodder, as in sugar beet, several plants can sprout from one glomerulus at once, but there is also one sprout variety, the cultivation of which helps to avoid a complex agricultural technique - thinning. The seeds are quite firmly attached to the flower stalks. The main difference is that in fodder varieties, the fruits crumble less and are somewhat smaller.

Fodder beet is smaller than sugar beet

Root crop

In the structure of the root system, three main parts are distinguished: the head, neck and the root itself. The head is the upper part of the root, it bears leaves and buds, next year flowering shoots can develop from these buds. The neck is an intermediate section of the root, located under the head. It is formed from the hypocotyl knee of the seedling and usually has neither leaves nor lateral roots on it.

The color of the root crops of the fodder variety is brighter and more diverse than that of the sugar-type varieties, it can be greenish, pink, gray-green, bright yellow, carmine, cream, orange and even lilac. The aboveground part sometimes differs significantly in color from the underground and the root itself.

Varieties of fodder beet have a lower immersion of root crops in the soil, which greatly complicates mechanical harvesting, but reduces labor costs for manual harvesting. They also come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. There are varieties with conical roots, protruding from the soil by a fifth, there are varieties of a cylindrical bag-shaped form, three-quarters of which are located above the surface.

Sugar roots are almost completely immersed in the ground. This makes them suitable for combine harvesting. The color of the root crops is also much lighter: white, grayish or yellowish.

Plants differ in the depth to which the root system penetrates. The length of sugar beet roots can reach up to three meters, which is much longer than that of fodder, this allows plants to extract water from the lower layers of the soil, thus increasing their drought resistance.

Sugar beets are almost completely submerged in the ground.

Chemical composition

The share of dry matter in root crops accounts for 25% of the mass. Sugar beet has a sucrose content of about 20%. Sugar content in fodder varieties is much lower. This is due to the fact that they have several times fewer vascular fibrous bundles, about 5-8, forming rings, between the layers of which there are large cells that store sugars.

In addition to sucrose, other carbohydrates are also found in root crops: glucose, galactose and arabinose, fructose. The content of proteins in sugar beet is negligible. While feed per 1 kg of root crops contains about 0.12 feed units and 9 g of protein, a high content of proteins can also be noted in the tops of the plant. A ton of haulm contains 90 feed units and 21 kg of digestible protein. Due to this, the culture is a valuable fodder plant.

Fodder beet contains milk-producing substances, so it is recommended to give it to dairy cattle to increase productivity, especially in winter. The plant is rich in vitamins and minerals.

In terms of nutritional value, sugar varieties are almost twice as superior to fodder varieties. Forage, with good care, can produce higher yields.

Fodder beet ripens earlier than sugar beet

vegetation

There are also differences between the two types of this crop in terms of growing season. The growing season for fodder beet is about 20-30 days shorter. This allows it to be grown in more northern territories. But the seedlings are insensitive to frost and in the fork phase are able to withstand up to -5º C.

The period from germination to ripening of sweet beets in the year of root formation can reach 140-170 days.

This is one of the earliest sown crops. Seedlings tolerate short-term frosts well and are able to withstand temperatures as low as -8º C.

Soil Requirements

Beets, especially fodder beets, make significant demands on soil fertility, moisture, and acidity. To obtain high yields, it is necessary to place the crop on soils rich in organic matter, the acidity of which is neutral or slightly alkaline. Good results are obtained with irrigation. Under favorable conditions, individual root crops reach a mass of 15 kg.

Sugar beet roots are much smaller. On average, it ranges from 500-800 g, but with sparse crops it can reach up to several kilograms. These plants are less demanding on moisture conditions, but have an increased need for fertilizers.

Fodder beets grow only in fertile soils

Usage

Culture finds application in various areas of human activity.

The bulk of sugar beet goes to processing and obtaining a valuable food product - sugar. You can also use it in cooking. Wastes from the sugar beet industry are widely used in agriculture. Tops and substandard root crops are used as a valuable feed for livestock. The pulp contains a lot of protein, which allows you to balance the nutrition of animals and increase their productivity, molasses contains up to 60% of sugars. Finds application and the dirt remaining after processing, it is used as a fertilizer.

The main use of fodder beet is the feeding of farm animals: cows, sheep, goats, pigs.

Root crops and tops of plants are used as feed. It is especially useful to include succulent roots rich in vitamins in the diet in winter.

The differences between fodder beet and sugar beet allow you to choose a crop that meets the existing growing conditions and direction of use.