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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Sugarbeet and Potato Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #144848

Title: ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

Author
item Fugate, Karen

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/15/2003
Publication Date: 2/1/2005
Citation: Klotz, K.L. 2005. Anatomy and physiology. In: Biancardi, E., Campbell, L.G., Skaracis, G.N., and De Biaggi, M. Genetics and Breeding of Sugar Beet. Enfield, New Hampshire, Science Publishers, Inc. p. 9-18.

Interpretive Summary: Sugarbeet is a biennial plant, requiring two years to complete its life cycle. The first growing season, sugarbeet grows as a near-rosette plant and develops a large, fleshy taproot that provides the food reserve for the second year¿s growth. The second year, after exposure to cold temperatures from overwintering and long days during the second year of growth, sugarbeet plants develop a stem and flower. The anatomy and development of all major organs of sugarbeet during its two-year life cycle are described. Major physiological events including seed germination, the transition from vegetative to reproductive growth, flowering and fertilization are also described.

Technical Abstract: The anatomy of the major organs of sugarbeet and the physiology of the major events in the two-year life cycle of sugarbeet are reviewed. Gross morphology of the root and shoot of sugarbeet during vegetative and reproductive growth is described. Root, leaf, flower and seed anatomy and development are also described. The physiological events of seed germination, the transition from vegetative to reproductive growth, flowering, fertilization, and self-incompatibility are reviewed, and the environmental factors that affect these events are discussed.