MESA K-12 Schools Program. UC Davis/Sacramento State MESA Center Thanks You! As another year closes for the Sacramento Area Center, we would like to thank our teachers, UC Davis Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach, and most importantly our students. Many congratulations on another successful year.
Sugar beets are a root crop, and flourish in temperate climates where the growing season is about five months long. A mature sugar beet is about one foot long, weighs two to five pounds, and contains about 18% sucrose, which is concentrated in its taproot.
To return the favor, the sugar beets funnel about a fifth of their photosynthetically captured carbon through their roots into the soil to fuel the microbes. New research reveals that it takes a community of soil microbes, not just one or two, to protect crops. The top image is a healthy sugar beet field.