July
1926
As already mentioned above, the intense heat during summer and the dry early part of the autumn, and the gende precipitation during winter and spring, are typical of the Mediterranean area. An optimum utilization of the natural moisture has produced large-grained, large-seeded and large-fruited forms and even large bulbs; promoted fast growth; and created provisions of large amounts of nutritious matter. Thanks to the initially rapid growth, the plants can utilize the precipitation during the late autumn and mild winter to the maximum extent. On the other hand, during the following stages of development the culivated plants are distinguished by a considerable drought-tolerance, developed owing to the dry climate during the summer months.
Mediterranean oats ate also distinguished by large dimensions just like the weedy oat grasses. In the coastal belt it is possible to see large amounts of wild beets, Beta maritima, a relative of the sugar beet. However, at the same time it appears unlikely that the rapidly growing annual forms of the coastal belt should be the true ancestors of the cultivated forms. More recent investigations have indicated that these were rather biennial forms distinguished by powerful growth and thick roots, ecologically closer to the cultivated ones and no doubt more closely related genetically to the cultivated forms of both fodder and sugar beets.
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