SUGAR CROPS 321 



crops common to the region where grown. A three, four or five-year rota- 

 tion, including a legume crop, should be used when growing beets. 



Fertilization. — Barnyard manure and high-grade fertilizer are used with 

 profit on beets. The manure should be well rotted when applied, so as to 

 lessen the chances of weed-seed. High-grade fertilizers, selected to meet 

 the needs of the soil, should be used. 



In European countries beets are fertilized very heavily. This produces 

 a large tonnage of beets and the residual effect of the fertilizer is taken up 

 by the crops that follow. (See chapter on "Fertilizers.") 



Seeding and Cultivation. — The beet plant produces seed in balls or 

 capsules containing one to five seeds. It is impossible, therefore, to regu- 

 late the rate of seeding so as to get a satisfactory distribution of plants in 

 the row. The seed is drilled rather thickly, and when the plants are large 

 enough, they are thinned to the required distance in the row. The seed 

 is ordinarily sown with a beet drill, which sows several rows at a time. The 

 distance between rows varies from twenty to twenty-eight inches. To 

 insure a full stand of plants, about twenty pounds of seed are sown to the 

 acre. In irrigated sections, beets are often sown in double rows one foot 

 apart and twenty-four to twenty-eight inches between each pair of rows. 

 Beet-seed should be sown early in May or after the ground warms up. 

 Cultivation should begin as soon as the rows can be followed and continued 

 at intervals of six to ten days, until the tops nearly meet between the rows. 

 A special beet cultivator is used that will cultivate several rows at a time. 



The thinning of the plants should be done about the time the fifth 

 leaf is formed. Thinning is clone by first blocking or bunching with a hoe. 

 This consists of cutting out the plants in the row, leaving small bunches 

 eight to ten inches apart. After blocking, further thinning is necessary, 

 leaving but one plant in each bunch. The blocking and thinning, hoeing, 

 pulling and topping of the beets are done by hand labor. On the larger beet 

 farms this work is generally done by foreigners under contract. 



Harvesting. — Beets should be harvested before danger of frost in the 

 fall; if not worked up immediately, the roots should be protected from 

 freezing. Harvesting consists of lifting, pulling, topping, piling and hauling 

 away the roots. Lifting is done by a special implement that loosens the 

 roots in the soil. The pulling, topping and piling are done by hand. In 

 topping, the leaves are sometimes simply twisted off. A much better 

 method of topping, from the standpoint of the manufacturer, is to remove 

 the tops with a sharp knife at the lowest leaf scar on the root. The part 

 of the beet that grows above ground is not desirable. The sugar content 

 of this part is low, and there is a high percentage of minerals that may 

 crystallize the sugar at the wrong time in the process of manufacture. 



Seed Production. — The sugar-beet is a biennial, producing seed the 

 second year. Almost all of the seed used in this country is imported. When 

 grown for seed, only beets with high sugar content should be saved. This 

 selection is based on the percentage of sugar as determined in a small sample 



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