Sugar beet

Sugar beet
Sugar beet
	Sugar beet, illustration of root, leaf, and flowering patterns
Species	Beta vulgaris
Subspecies	Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris (var. saccharifera)
Cultivar group	Altissima Group
Origin	Silesia, mid-18th century

A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (Beta vulgaris).^[1] Together with other beet cultivars, such as beetroot and chard, it belongs to the subspecies Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris but classified as var. saccharifera . Its closest wild relative is the sea beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima).^[2]

Sugar beets are grown in climates that are too cold for sugarcane. In 2020, Russia, the United States, Germany, France and Turkey were the world's five largest sugar beet producers.^[3] In 2010–2011, Europe, and North America except Arctic territories failed to supply the overall domestic demand for sugar and were all net importers of sugar.^[4] The US harvested 1,004,600 acres (406,547 ha) of sugar beets in 2008.^[5] In 2009, sugar beets accounted for 20% of the world's sugar production^[6] and nearly 30% by 2013.^[7] Sugarcane accounts for most of the rest of sugar produced globally. In February 2015, a USDA factsheet reported that sugar beets generally account for about 55 percent of domestically produced sugar, and sugar cane for about 45 percent.^[8]

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Sugar beet
Sugar beet, illustration of root, leaf, and flowering patterns
Species	Beta vulgaris
Subspecies	Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris (var. saccharifera)
Cultivar group	Altissima Group
Origin	Silesia, mid-18th century