Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
you which diseases are the most common or present the biggest challenges. Away from large-scale
beet growing areas, disease pressure is much lower. Leaf spot disease of beets and chard (fungus:
Cer-
cospora beticola
) is seed-borne or transmitted from afflicted plants. It appears in beet-growing areas in
warm, dry summers. Symptoms: round, gray/brown spots with reddish border. The spots are spread ir-
regularly on the leaves and can kill them. Remedy: crop rotation (growing chenopods not more than
once every four years).
Different species of downy mildew (fungus:
Peronospora farinosa
f. sp.
betae
and f. sp.
spinacea
)
can afflict beets and chard during cold, wet periods. Symptoms: carpet of spores on leaf bottoms, heart
leaves curl up. Remedies: avoid growing in moist areas or near fodder and sugar beet fields, increase
plant spacing, raised beds, preventive spray of horsetail compost tea.
Various shapes of beet roots
The silvering disease of red beet (bacteria:
Corynebacterium betae
) can affect beets going to seed.
This is a seed-borne disease. Symptoms: silvery, shiny leaf parts. Remedy: remove infected plants.
Beet mosaic virus is not seed-borne but rather is transmitted by aphids. Symptoms: leaves (espe-
cially the inner, not yet fully developed leaves) are checked in a mosaic pattern, older leaves wilt and
die early. Infections often do not affect yield. Remedies: carefully battle aphids, do not plant out near
overwintering spinach. Root rot (fungus:
Phoma betae
) is another beet disease. This fungus causes
spots on all parts of the plant and can be a problem in storage. It overwinters on dead plant debris and
in the soil.
Aphids can thrive on plants being isolated under row cover. Check beets under row cover regularly
and react quickly with beneficial insects or a soft soap spray.
CULTIVATION HISTORY
Wild beets (
Beta vulgaris
ssp.
maritima
) can be found from the Mediter-
ranean coast to the Atlantic coast of Europe. The wild beet is a perennial beach-loving plant with
branched shoots. Presumably uses were found for wild beets and thus began its domestication. Romans
brought these plants from the Mediterranean region and into the cooler north, where Germanic peoples
and Celts were growing turnips. The words “beta” and “cicla” can be found in literature dating back to
the Middle Ages. It has not been possible to clearly differentiate between these two forms, however.
Crescentius noted the beet as a typical garden plant in 13th-century Bologna, Italy. Since the 16th and
17th centuries, the beet has only grown in importance.
