Chenopodiaceae

Chenopodiaceae

The family Chenopodiaceae groups together plants cultivated for their roots such as beet or for their leaves like spinach, chard and card.

Beet (Beta vulgaris) is the most important species of this family. Under the general name beet are grouped together beetroot, for human consumption, mangelwurzel, a fodder crop for livestock and especially sugar beet, produced for its sugar.
Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris var. rapa) makes up 80% of French industrial-scale crops. The vast majority of the production is destined for the sugar industry but part of it goes to distilleries for alcohol manufacturing. Beet is the main source of sucrose in places where it is not possible to grow sugar cane. Its range of cultivation extends to all the temperate regions of the World.

In market gardening, spinach, grown for its leaves, is the most important crop.

Chenopodiaceae are highly vulnerable to viral diseases transmitted by aphids

See Aphid damage on Chenopodiaceae

Frequent aphids

Aphis fabae
Myzus persicae
Rhopalosiphoninus staphyleae

Occasional aphids

Aulacorthum solani
Macrosiphum euphorbiae
Myzus ascalonicus

Root aphids

Smynthurodes betae

In the Aphid key folder you will find simplified keys based on photos or morphological criteria to help with identification of species.

Modification date : 07 February 2023 | Publication date : 28 January 2015 | Redactor : Evelyne Turpeau, Maurice Hullé, Bernard Chaubet