Root crop and pulse picked up (4)
I believe the answer is:
beet
'root crop' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both plants as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps you can see a link between them that I don't see?
'pulse picked up' is the wordplay.
'pulse' becomes 'beat' ('beat' can be a synonym of 'pulse').
'picked up' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'beat' sounds like 'BEET'.
'and' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for beet that I've seen before include "Genus of plant with succulent root" , "Sugar-yielding plant" , "Root used as a source of sugar" , "Root, maybe source of sugar" , "The mangelwurzel, for instance" .)