Sugar concentration in sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.) root is controlled by the additive effects of numerous polygenes; hence, the possibility of increase due to heterosis is small. High sugar content must he expressed in all cultivar components, namely male sterile lines and pollinators. Field trials showed that sugar content in the progeny obtained from crossing high sugar content (Z-type) and high yielding, low sugar lines (E-type) depends to a greater extent on the maternal rather than the paternal component. This maternal effect can be used in developing cultivar components and when determining hybrid composition.