10 SUGAR-BEET SEED 



TIME REQUIRED IN WHICH TO PRODUCE 

 SUGAR-BEET SEED 



Starting with a certain strain of seed from which to 

 breed, five years of painstaking, scientific work are 

 required before the resultant crop of commercial beets 

 is harvested. 



First Year. Say that in the spring of 1916, the orig- 

 inal selected and pedigreed super-elite seed is planted. 

 In the fall, those of the beets which pass the physical 

 selection of both foliage and root and a chemical test 

 of the root, are siloed or placed in cellars for the winter, 

 where they are kept from frost and from heating. 

 These are known as " mother beets." 



Second Year. In the spring of 1917, these mothers 

 are uncovered and, after passing a second chemical test, 

 are planted in the field and in the fall yield a crop of 

 elite and super-elite seed. As the super-elite seed is 

 withdrawn and used for breeding future generations of 

 elite and super-elite seed, it does not continue in this 

 calculation. 



Third Year. In the spring of 1918, the " elite" seed 

 is planted closely in order to grow a crop of long thin 

 beets called "steckling," which are gathered in the 

 fall and preserved in siloes until the next spring. 



