Sugar beet is a biennial root vegetable of the amaryllis family, widely used for sugar production and as a forage crop. The plant forms a root with firm white pulp and basal leaves forming a rosette. Modern sugar beet varieties contain 18-20% sugar, making it an important sugar-yielding crop of the temperate zone. Thanks to good storability and transportability, beet retains its qualities during storage and transportation.
Sugar beet cultivation is carried out in open ground, with an optimal temperature for seed germination of +10-12°C and for growth and development of +20-22°C. Seedlings are sensitive to frost and die at temperatures of -4-5°C. High cultivation efficiency is achieved with winter sowing. The plant is cold-hardy, light-loving, and moderately demanding on soil fertility, which allows it to be grown in various climatic conditions.
In addition to sugar-containing roots, sugar beet is valued as a forage crop. In 100 kg of roots there are 25 feed units and 1.2 kg of digestible protein, while the same amount of foliage provides 20 feed units and 2.2 kg of digestible protein. This makes the crop an important component in animal husbandry, providing a nutritional base for feeding animals.
