610 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



ease, especially leaf spot or crown rot, is 

 noticeable on the beet leaves and crowns, 

 the manure should be used only on 

 ground that is not to be put into beets 

 for two or more years; or, better, the 

 freshly wilted beet tops should be put 

 into the silo, preferably mixed with cut 

 straw or corn stover. Leaf spot pores 

 are all killed in the silo. 



Beet pulp is likewise an excellent stock 

 food. This by-product is the refuse that 

 remains after the beet roots have been 

 sliced and the sugar extracted. As a 

 stock food it may be used either as green 

 pulp — that %, just as it comes from the 

 mill — or it may be dried. The composi- 

 tion of the dried pulp as guaranteed by 

 one of the large dealers is as follows: 

 Protein, not under eight per cent; fat, 

 not under one-half of one per cent; sugar 

 and starch, not under four per cent; 

 fiber, not over 20 per cent; extract (carbo- 

 hydrates), not under 58 per cent. Total 

 carbohydrates, including fiber, not under 

 76 per cent; ashes, two and one-half per 

 cent. While the pulp, either green or 

 dried, is an excellent stock food it is not 

 a balanced ration and should therefore 

 be fed with other protein material. 



Waste lime is a by-product of the sugar 

 mill which, under certain conditions, is 

 of considerable value to the farmer in 

 correcting the acid condition of the soil. 

 It is well known that a soil should be 

 neutral or slightly alkaline in order to 

 produce the best results. Ordinarily, an 

 application of from 500 to 2.000 pounds 

 of waste lime per acre will correct the 

 acidity and otherwise improve the soil. 



.Sammary 



Sugar beet soil should be selected with 

 reference to its fertility, its physical con- 

 dition, its previous cropping, and its abil- 

 ity to be properly drained and irrigated. 

 The ground should be plowed to a good 

 depth in the fall and every effort made 

 to retain the moisture in the soil from 

 the time the previous crop was harvested 

 until the beet crop is laid by. 



The seed and root beds should be so 

 prepared that they will be fine, firm, 

 moist, and well aerated, with a sufficiently 

 lumpy mulch on the surface to prevent 

 blowing. 



Beet ground should never be flooded 

 after the seed is planted. 



The soil should be well supplied with 

 humus. 



Beet seed should be planted in moist 

 soil, but not more than one and one-half 

 inches deep. 



Beets should be spaced and thinned 

 just as soon as they are large enough to 

 handle. 



Beets should be cultivated and hoed 

 often enough to destroy all weeds and 

 to keep the entire surface of the ground 

 covered with a mulch. 



Beets should always be rotated with 

 other crops in order to keep the soil in 

 good tilth and free from pests. 



Live stock, especially dairy cows, 

 should always be found on beet farms. 



The by-products of the sugar beet and 

 of the sugar mill are worthy of careful 

 attention. 



Farmers' Bulletin 567 



