602 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



occasional application will in some cases 

 be found beneficial. 



Extremely sandy soils should not be se- 

 lected tor sugar beet growing, especial- 

 ly in localities where high winds prevail 

 in the spring. The adobe and silty soils 

 should be handled with considerable care 

 to prevent baking and crusting. It is 

 generally assumed that new sod ground 

 is not suitable for beets, but experience 

 has shown that good results may be ob- 

 tained from our western virgin soils. If 

 such ground is to be planted to beets the 

 sod should be broken in the summer, the 

 ground fall plowed, worked down, and 

 kept moist so that the sod will rot. 



The kind and location of the subsoil 

 are always important factors. In some 

 cases the subsoil is very porous. This con- 

 dition can be relieved to some extent by 

 increasing the humus supply in the soil 

 and by giving special attention to firm- 

 ing the seed and root beds in order that 

 their water-holding capacity may be in- 

 creased. If the subsoil is extremely por- 

 ous and deep, it would not be advisable 

 to use the soil for beet culture. 



If the hardpan is close to the surface, 

 so that there is not sufficient depth of 

 soil to produce sugar beets, the field 

 should not be used. If a good soil to the 

 depth of 18 inches or more covers the 

 hardpan, it will be safe. 



Climatic Conditions 



The principal climatic factors which 

 have a direct bearing upon sugar beet 

 culture are temperature, precipitation, 

 and winds. A study of the most success- 

 ful sugar beet localities of the world leads 

 to the conclusion that beets of the best 

 quality can not be grown where the aver- 

 age temperature for the season when the 

 beets are being grown is much above 70 

 degrees Fahrenheit. 



Low temperatures are most likely to be 

 injurious to sugar beets when the plant- 

 lets are just breaking through the ground, 

 but after the roots are established in the 

 soil they rapidly become hardy and re- 

 sistant to frost to a marked degree. A 

 killing frost when the beets are coming 

 up often necessitates the expense and 

 labor of replanting. 



The great danger from low tempera- 

 tures at the end of the growing season 

 is that the beets may be frozen in the 

 ground. To avoid this danger and the 

 consequent loss that might result from 

 such a condition it is advisable to get 

 the beets out of the ground as soon as 

 possible after they are ripe and to cover 

 them to avoid freezing or drying. Appar- 

 ently beet roots are not injured for sugar- 

 making purposes by freezing, provided 

 that they freeze and remain frozen until 

 they are put through the mill, but alter- 

 nate freezing and thawing causes them 

 to decay and blacken, so that their value 

 for sugar making is materially decreased. 



The practice that prevails in some 

 localities of letting the natural moisture 

 escape from the soil, with the idea that 

 more water can be applied when it is 

 needed, is most pernicious and should not 

 be followed. The moisture that falls 

 upon the ground in the form of precipita- 

 tion and is received and retained by the 

 soil acts upon the plant foods day after 

 day and week after week and accom- 

 plishes most for plant growth. There is 

 a feeling of safety In having an unlimit- 

 ed supply of water for irrigation pur- 

 poses, but it should be remembered that 

 irrigation costs money and labor; pre- 

 cipitation is nature's gift. 



Winds have been briefly mentioned in 

 connection with soil selection for sugar 

 beets, but they have a still wider bear- 

 ing upon crop conditions. 



The blowing of the soil and the exces- 

 sive evaporation may often be reduced 

 to the point of successful crop produc- 

 tion by keeping the surface of the ground 

 covered with a lump mulch. The mulch 

 retards the evaporation, while its lumpy 

 condition reduces the shifting of the 

 soil. The cutting action of the shifting 

 sand may be controlled by planting the 

 beet rows at right angles to the direction 

 of the prevailing winds when practicable 

 and by attaching irrigating shovels to the 

 drills, so that the ridges capable of pro- 

 tecting the young plants will be thrown 

 up between the rows at planting time. 



