18 



CIRCULAR NO. 122, BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 



form in texture and it contained some black alkali. It was highly 

 impervious to water, and during the hot months a hard surface crust 

 would form after each irrigation. 



The beets w^ere drilled in rows 80 feet long and 18 inches apart and 

 irrigated by furrows in every other row. There were alternately 

 two fertilized rows and four unfertilized or check rows. Of the four 

 check rows only the two middle rows were weighed at harvest time, as 

 it was thought that the rows next to those to which fertilizer had been 

 applied might have been aflE'ected by the spread of the fertilizer. 



The beets were small and the yields poor, but the results obtained 

 with a few of the coml)inations of fertilizers were clearly beneficial. 

 Those combinations which resulted in a decided increase in yield were 

 as follows : 



Sodiuiu uitrate and potassium sulphate applied at the rate of 290 pounds per 



acre. 



Acid phosphate and potassium sulphate applied at the rate of 290 pounds per 



acre. 



Sodium nitrate, potassiuni sulphate, and acid phosphate applied at the rate 

 of 540 pounds i>er acre. 



Sodium nitrate, potassium sulphate, acid phosphate, and gj-psum applied at 

 the rate of 7.'"tO pounds per acre. 



EFFECT OF ALFALFA ON STTGAR BEETS. 



Several fields on private ranches were surveyed for the purpose 

 of determining the yields of sugar beets on various types of land. 

 The results are shown in Table III. 



Table ITT. — Effort of rarioiis tiiprfi of hind on tlic i/irltis of siif/nr hectic. 



Previou.s crop. 



Alfalfa. 

 None. . 



Kind of soil. 



Loam 



(Adobe 



\Sandy loam. 



Sugar 

 content. 



Per cent. 

 18.1 

 18.0 

 18.8 

 21.8 

 19.8 



These results indicate that a previous growth of alfalfa has a 

 decidedlv beneficial effect on the yield of sugar beets. 



SWEET C'IX»VER. 



Sweet clover has always been considered as undesirable in many 

 sections of the country, but farmers on the Truckee-Carson Project 

 have come to think well of it. It has been grown for a number of 

 years at the experiment farm, usually on soils where alfalfa would 



[Cir. 122] 



