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Beta vulgaris var. crassa
Also called Beet, Common Beet, Beetroot, Chard, Fodder Beet, Mangels, Silver Beet
Mangelwurzel is a large, swollen-rooted variety of beet grown mainly as livestock fodder, though its young roots and leaves are also eaten. It is grown as a cool-season crop and needs fertile, well-composted soil and regular watering.
Mangelwurzel or mangold wurzel (from German Mangel/Mangold, "chard" and Wurzel, "root"), also called mangold, mangel beet, field beet, fodder beet and (archaic) root of scarcity, is a cultivated root vegetable. It is a variety of Beta vulgaris, the same species that also contains the red beet (beetroot) and sugar beet varieties. The cultivar group is named Crassa Group. Their large white, yellow or orange-yellow swollen roots were developed in the 18th century as a fodder crop for feeding livestock.
In general, mangelwurzel are easy to grow. They may require supplementary potassium for optimum yields, flavour, and texture, and foliage readily displays potassium deficiency as interveinal chlorosis. This can be corrected with either organic or inorganic sources of potash.
Mangelwurzel is very susceptible to damage from frost. It is suited to southern parts of England where the climate is too warm and dry for the successful cultivation of turnip.
Contemporary use is primarily for cattle, pig and other stock fodder, although it can be eaten—especially when young—by humans. Considered a crop for cool-temperate climates, the mangelwurzel sown in autumn can be grown as a winter crop in warm-temperate to subtropical climates. Both leaves and roots may be eaten. Leaves can be lightly steamed for salads or lightly boiled as a vegetable if treated like spinach or chard, which is a member of the same subspecies. Grown in well-dug, well-composted soil and watered regularly, the roots become tender, juicy, and flavourful. The roots are prepared boiled like potato for serving mashed, diced, or in sweet curries. Animals are known to thrive upon this plant; both its leaves and roots provide nutritious food. George Henderson, a 20th-century English farmer and author on agriculture, described mangel beets as one of the best fodders for dairying, as milk production is maximized.
Sea beet · Sugar beet · Common beet · Beet
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Mangelwurzel by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
