454 FIELD CROPS 



crop is irrigated, the beets are often sown in double rows 

 1 foot apart, with a space of from 24 to 28 inches between 

 each pair of rows. To insure a full stand, 20 pounds of 

 seed to the acre are required. Seeding should be done early 

 in May. 



Cultivation should be begun as soon as the rows can be 

 followed, and continued at intervals of six or eight days until 

 the tops meet between the rows. A special cultivator 

 which cultivates several rows at a time is in common use. 

 In order to obtain a perfect stand and prevent crowding, 

 the plants must be thinned at about the time the fifth leaf 

 is produced. They are bunched and then thinned by hand 

 in the same manner as already described for mangels, except 

 that the distance between the plants is about 8 inches. 

 The beets should be harvested before danger of frost in the 

 fall, and should be protected from freezing. The tops are 

 ordinarily twisted off by hand and the beets thrown into 

 piles, from which they are hauled to the sugar factory or 

 shipping station. The tops are usually cured for feeding to 

 cattle or other stock; if they are not needed as forage, they 

 should be spread on the land as fertilizer. 



The highest percentage of sugar is produced when there 

 is plenty of moisture, particularly during the early growth, 

 with abundant sunlight. These conditions are found most 

 commonly in the irrigated districts of the Rocky Mountain 

 and Pacific states, though the Northern states generally 

 present favorable conditions for the growth of sugar beets. 



596. Production of Beet Seed. Sugar beets for seed 

 production are selected by taking small samples out of the 

 side of the root with a trier and determining the percentage 

 of sugar they contain. Only those which show the proper 

 sugar content are retained for planting. The hole made 

 by the trier should be filled with charcoal or clay to prevent 



