CHAPTER XVII 

 SUGAR BEETS AND OTHER ROOT CROPS 



THE growth of sugar beets on a commercial scale in the northern 

 states is of recent origin. The crop is grown chiefly in northern 

 or cool latitudes. The leading states in the growth of this crop 

 are Colorado, California, Michigan, Utah, Idaho and Wisconsin. 

 More than a billion pounds of sugar are annually produced from 

 beets in the United States. The area devoted to sugar beets is 

 unlimited and will probably continue to increase. 



Relationships. The sugar beet belongs to the same species 

 as garden beets and mangel-wurzels. It is really an improved 

 form of the latter. Much improvement was made in beets 

 containing sugar about the year 1800 when the sugar supply from 

 warm climates was cut off from Europe. During the Napoleonic 

 wars further improvements were made by careful selection and 

 the percentage of sugar was increased from about five per cent 

 to fifteen per cent. The true sugar beet is white, while rnangel- 

 wurzels vary greatly in color. The latter grows with the fleshy 

 root far out of the ground, while the sugar beet grows chiefly under- 

 ground, the part extending above ground being very poor for 

 sugar making. This makes sugar beets more difficult to harvest. 

 Mangels are usually two or three times as heavy as sugar beet 

 roots. The latter should weigh about one or one and one-half 

 pounds. Mangels may contain five or six per cent of sugar, but 

 the true sugar beet will average about fifteen to eighteen per cent 

 sugar. Records of fields averaging twenty per cent in sugar 

 content are not uncommon. Beet sugar factories usually buy 

 the beets from the grower according to the tonnage, and sugar 

 analysis. Samples of the crop are analyzed for sugar before 

 payment is made. Yields containing a high percentage of sugar 

 are, therefore, most profitable. 



Soils and Fertilizers. The best soil for beets grown under 

 irrigation is sandy loam, but in humid climates, where the crop 

 is grown without irrigation, medium or heavy clay loams are 

 better, because of their moisture-holding capacity. If the crop 

 is grown on soils containing too much organic matter a surplus 

 growth of leaves is produced at the expense of the roots. Com- 



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