Storage of sugarbeet (L.) root in controlled atmospheres showed no consistent effect of oxygen and carbon dioxide on raffinose, reducing sugar, or amino acid content in the varieties studied. Controlled atmosphere (CA) storage reduced the tendency of one variety to accumulate reducing sugars, but showed no consistent improvement in the other varieties testedCarbon dioxide concentrations up to 10% had no beneficial effect on sucrose conservation or impurity accumulation. Although decreasing the oxygen content to 3 to 5% significantly reduced storage losses of sucrose in these experiments, large-scale studies will be required to determine if CA storage has any practical advantage over low-temperature storage in air.