Conditions for Growing Sugar-Beets 37 



ature, sunshine, moisture, and wind are of greatest con- 

 sequence. 



CLIMATIC CONDITIONS 



Temperature. 



The sugar-beet will grow in most parts of the United 

 States and Canada where the ordinary crops of the 

 temperate climate thrive ; but the region maturing beets 

 of desirable sugar-content, purity, and yield is confined 

 to a rather narrow strip across the continent. It lies 

 largely in a wedge-shaped area including California, 

 Oregon, and Washington on the west, and tapering ir- 

 regularly to the east, with Michigan and the states to the 

 east as the sharp end of the wedge. 



So far as sugar is concerned, the best sugar-beet regions 

 are those with an average temperature of about 70 F. 

 during the three summer months June, July, and 

 August. The distribution of the heat over the summer 

 period as well as the daily variations in temperature 

 affects the average temperature required. Unlike corn, 

 beets a're not injured by cool nights during the warm part 

 of the growing season. A great amount of heat is not 

 required when the beets are young; neither will they 

 thrive if the weather is cold and damp just after planting. 

 This condition retards germination and causes part of 

 the seeds to decay in the soil. The young plants that 

 emerge are also likely to be attacked by disease, such as 

 that caused by the damping-off fungi. With a protracted 

 cold spring, the young beets sometimes receive a set-back 

 from which they never fully recover. 



Beets should do well in most localities where the sum- 



