302 BOTANY OF CROP PLANTS 



Shape and Structiire of Beet (Tap Root and Hypocotyl) 



— Beet Shape and Size, and Sugar Content. — There is great 

 variation in the shape and size of sugar beets. Some im- 

 portance has been attached to the correlation between sugar 

 content and beet shape and size. This'relation, however, is 



'--1 . i^^*ttVi 



Fig. 1 19. — Sugar beet plant in full fruit. 



of httle signifuancc. I'ritchard has recently shown that 

 differences in the size and sugar content of individual beet 

 roots are fluctuations, and show no evidence of inheritance. 

 It is true that unifonniLy of tyi)c is desirable, but any aLLcni[)t 

 to judge of the sugar content ol an individual beet by the 



