1 Brief History of Sugar BeetThe first references to the family of plants known as "Beta" are found in Greek literature around 420 BC. They have been described as garden plants; dark and light varieties are mentioned. Sugar beets were first cultivated 2,000 years ago for their leaves, which were probably the spinach or Swiss chard of the time. Beetroot gradually spread throughout France and Spain, often in monasteries but also among peasants. By the 15th century, beets were grown throughout Europe. The vegetable was probably selected from various beta species growing on the shores of the Mediterranean. It was widely used for culinary purposes in Europe as early as the Middle Ages. The sugar beet currently cultivated is very far from the garden plant. Later, the root became a popular vegetable, especially the beetroot known as beetroot. In the second half of the 18th century, the chemist Marggraf demonstrated that the sweet-tasting crystals obtained from beet juice and sugar cane were similar. This was the first step in the development of beet into an industrial crop for sugar extraction. Before that time, no one paid much attention to what gave roots their softness. Beets with higher levels of sucrose were selected from a variety of white fodder beets. The Silesian white variety is still considered the main source of sugar beet germplasm cultivated today (Fischer 1989). The Beta vulgaris plant was developed to meet the needs of a sugar crop that could be grown in temperate climates. Today, sugar beets are grown in Europe, Asia, North Africa, North America and even parts of South America. Sugar beets were the source of only 5% of the world's commercial sugar in 1840, but by 1890 they were providing some. ..... middle of paper ......cardi, Lewellen et al. 2002). This resistance was recognized as monogenic and dominant because the hybrids produced were segregated in a pattern typical of a single dominant gene, Rz1. (Rz2) was identified in a sea beet population coded WB42 (Scholten and Lange 2000). Advances in molecular genetics over the past century have enabled better characterization and understanding of gene function, which will ultimately enable advances in classical breeding. New disease resistances and other desirable genes will be identified in beta germplasm screening studies and introduced into breeding lines and commercial cultivars (Francis and Luterbacher 2003). As a result, molecular genetics could lead to very high-yielding sugar beet cultivation, with few inputs and no pesticides. This would be beneficial both for the environment and, depending on the price of seeds, for producers' income...