Björn Vrooman Oct 31, 2019:

OK First off, here is the Oxford dictionary on multigerm:
"Designating or relating to varieties of sugar beet in which each seed ball contains several fruits and so gives rise to several seedlings."
https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/multigerm

Thus, I think seed ball is fine (as long as it's multigerm, of course).

Second, the "Dictionary of Plant Breeding" by Rolf H.J. Schlegel apparently includes "bigerm" (as in having two seeds). It is also mentioned there that sugar beet typically has one ovule--in contrast to a multigerm (aggregate) fruit.

Third, "Root and Tuber Crops" by J.E. Bradshaw contains this sentence about processing sugar beet:
"In fact, the complete removal of bigerm seeds was difficult when using the gravity separators widely used during seed processing."

A few lines above that sentence, it says that since "hand thinning was very expensive, mechanically processing multigerm glomerules into single seeds was used."

If I understand the following correctly, monogerm doesn't require thinning, so it could be preferable:
https://hosstools.com/monogram-vs-multigerm-beet-seeds

Hope the above is of some use.

Best wishes

Björn Vrooman Oct 29, 2019:

@Alexandra and Gordon Please see p. 517 of "Anleitung zu Untersuchungen in der Zuckerindustrie" by Oskar Spengler. Example sentence: "Nach den deutschen Normen zählen zu den Verunreinigungen auch die durch das 2-mm-Schlitzsieb fallenden Knäuel."

It also says, "Die Merzahl aller Knäuel - Rübensamen oder Rübenkerne genannt - enthalten drei solcher Einzelfrüchte..."

Another reference: "Die kleinen unscheinbaren Blüten stehen meist zu 2 bis 4 Blüten zusammen, die ein von den miteinander verwachsenen Perigonblättern umhülltes Samenknäuel bilden (Polykarpie)."
https://www.proplanta.de/Zuckerruebe/Biologie-Zuckerruebe_Pf...

If you compare the German and English Wiki pages:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rüben
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_vulgaris

...Knäuel seems to be called glomerule?

Also, "The Sugar Beet Crop" by D.A. Cooke and J.E. Scott gives "bigerm" as a possible translation of "bikarp" (+ cluster). What do you think?

Interesting topic.

Best

Alexandra Hirsch (X) Oct 25, 2019:

utricle perhaps Botany
Most plants in the Chenopodiaceae family have small single flowers and plants are bisexual or unisexual, sometimes dioecious. In some cases two or more flowers grow together in a dense cluster and form a multiple fruit called a utricle that contains multiple embryos. With beets, the calyx continues to grow after flowering, becomes corky and completely covers the seeds. The utricle is the propagule planted to grow beets and chard. [https://www.hort.vt.edu/Welbaum/seedproduction/beets.html]

Gordon Matthews Oct 25, 2019:

Knäuel I imagine a "Knäuel" to be a knot or clump rather than a cluster, especially if we are talking about sugar beet seeds. I think we need a botanist to answer this one.