RED BEET

• Common beet Beta vulgaris
• Goosefoot family

All red beet crops came from wild beet that even now grows in Iran, India, Egypt, Balkans, the Crimea and Transcaucasia. Earlier yellow beet was popular. In 12-13 century red beet was started to grow in Europe. In the 11-16 century it was spread on the territory of Russia and in the 17-18 century it became one of the main vegetable crop. On our territory beets are grown in all regions. Beet is unique crop because of containing of physiologically and biologically active substance. It has high energy value. It contains proteins, fats, fiber, pectin, saccharose, fructose, fruit-sugar, organic acid, many vitamins, mineral salt and micro-elements. Alkaline reaction is a special feature of beets. Beet-roots and young leaves are used for cooking ( leaves have more C vitamin), conserving, drying or for fresh consumption. Men needs at least 7 kg of beets per year.

A little information from botany: 

Two-year-old plant from Goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae).

Red beet  - is close to leaf beet, white beet and mangel wurzel. At the first year it forms leaf rosette and root and it forms flower bearing stem and gives seeds in the next year.

• It has stalky root system in the depth of 10-15 cm. Absorbing roots go parallel to central root. Beet-root forms from epicotyl and hypocotyl. Top of root forms from epicotyl that gives leaves and bourgeons, and the main part of beet-root forms from hypocotyl. Actual root is a low part of beet-root and it has side rootlets. Anatomical structure of beet-root has an important role for choosing agrotechnics. Thanks to that structure it is possible to grow beets through seedling, except few varieties that has the same root as carrot, parsley, parsnip and celery.
• Beet leaves are entire, alternate, soft, with a wavy edge, they have cordate-ovate plate and long petioles triangular shape. Petiole and leaf vein usually have an intense burgundy color, and often the entire lamina is red-green. Stalk that is inflorescence shoot with strong upright branchy stalk in a height of 40-70 cm forms in the second year of life. But with a changeable weather conditions, or with early or under winter sowing beet can blossom in the first year of life and give inflorescence shoot that called “bolting”.
• Monoclinous flowers they are small and situate one by one on the top of stalk or by forming bunches(2-7), they have greenish or whitish colour and pentamerous flower with 5 stamens and big pistil.
• Inflorescence is panicle. Beet is cross-pollinated crop that can easily inter-crossed with willd beets.
• Fruit is capsule. By knitting together with floral ligneous envelope fruits make firm fruit system called cluster. Cluster can have from 1 to 7 small, round-shaped, smooth seeds in a firm cover. The weight of 100 infructescence is from 18 to 50 g, the weight of seeds is 1,5- 5 g. Beet seeds can keep viability qualities for a 8 years.

Depending on varieties beet-roots can have different shape, size and colour. They can be long, round-shaped, flat or round-flat, longish-conical. Long and round-shaped beets have the biggest yield. The colour of external skin can vary from red to black-violet; the flesh can be white, red, raspberry-red, brown-red, dark-red, dark-violet with different beet ringiness. Beet is a perfect cure from scurvy and avitaminosis, it is very useful in a case of anemia. Beet juice is used for treatment pleurisy, inflammation of the lungs, and respiratory disease. Thanks for high iodine content it is used for atherosclerotic vascular disease treatment. Beet improves bowel work and decreases blood pressure. It is also recommended for people who have insufficient circulation of blood in kidneys and liver, a bad case of diabetes.