Common beet

Sugarbeet

BETMA

The wild forms from which the crop could have been derived are widely distributed over the Mediterranean basin and the Near East.Sugar beet originates from the cultivated form of beet around the Mediterranean area; region A1 (Near East). It is possible that all cultivated beets originated from B. maritima. Sugar beet was introduced to North America around 1830 and to South America circa 1850.

Typically sugar beet root crops are planted in the spring and harvested in the autumn of the same year. For seed production, however, an overwintering period of cold temperatures of 4 - 7°C (vernalization) is required for the root to bolt in the next growing season and for the reproductive stage to be initiated

France, the United States, Germany, Russia and Turkey are the world's five largest sugar beet producers.