Editing Beetroot (section)

==History==
The domestication of beetroot can be traced to the emergence of an [[allele]] that enables [[biennial plant|biennial]] harvesting of leaves and taproot.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Pin|first1=Pierre A.|last2=Zhang|first2=Wenying|last3=Vogt|first3=Sebastian H.|last4=Dally|first4=Nadine|last5=Büttner|first5=Bianca|last6=Schulze-Buxloh|first6=Gretel|last7=Jelly|first7=Noémie S.|last8=Chia|first8=Tansy Y. P.|last9=Mutasa-Göttgens|first9=Effie S.|display-authors=3|date=2012-06-19|title=The Role of a Pseudo-Response Regulator Gene in Life Cycle Adaptation and Domestication of Beet|journal=Current Biology|language=en|volume=22|issue=12|pages=1095–1101|doi=10.1016/j.cub.2012.04.007|issn=0960-9822|pmid=22608508|doi-access=free|bibcode=2012CBio...22.1095P |hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-000E-F07C-6|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Beetroot was domesticated in the ancient Middle East, primarily for their greens, and were grown by the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. By the Roman era, it is thought that they were also cultivated for their roots. From the [[Middle Ages]], beetroot was used to treat various conditions, especially illnesses relating to digestion and the blood. [[Bartolomeo Platina]] recommended taking beetroot with [[garlic]] to nullify the effects of "garlic-breath".<ref>[[Bartolomeo Platina|Platina]] ''[[De honesta voluptate et valetudine]]'', 3.14</ref>

During the middle of the 17th century, [[wine]] often was colored with beetroot juice.<ref>Nilsson ''et al.'' (1970). "Studies into the pigments in beetroot (''Beta vulgaris'' L. ssp. ''vulgaris'' var. ''rubra'' L.)"</ref>

Food shortages in Europe [[Aftermath of World War I|following World War I]] caused great hardships, including cases of ''[[mangelwurzel]]'' disease, as relief workers called it. It was symptomatic of eating only beetroot.<ref>{{cite book|last=MacMillan|first=Margaret Olwen|title=Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World|title-link=Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World|publisher=[[Random House]]|year=2002|isbn=978-0375508264|edition=1st U.S.|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/paris1919sixmont00macm/page/60 60]|chapter=We are the League of the People|lccn=2002023707|quote=Relief workers invented names for things they had never seen before, such as the mangelwurzel disease, which afflicted those who lived solely on beetroot.|author-link=Margaret MacMillan|orig-year=2001}}</ref>

Beetroot was grown in many a [[victory garden]] during [[World War II]], in part because the species was seen as an indicator of [[soil pH]] with good growth a sign that soil acidity was not too strong.<ref>https://archive.org/details/sim_consumer-reports_1942-04_7_4/page/94/mode/2up Gardens for Victory, Consumer Reports, April 1942, p. 94.</ref>