8 BULLETIN" 995, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Worn soil. — In those sections where sugar beets have been grown 

 for a number of years without proper attention to the maintenance 

 of soil fertility and "an adequate supply of humus, the yield has been 

 reduced. There are few sugar-beet areafr in which the soil fertility 

 has been maintained or improved to the limit of possibilities. It is 

 apparent, therefore, that by proper attention to soil conditions from 

 the standpoint of fertility the average yield of beets per acre may 

 be greatly increased. The worn condition of the soil is not peculiar 

 to the growing of sugar beets, but occurs in the growing of other farm 

 crops, when attention is not given to increasing the supply of avail- 

 able plant food in the soil or to maintaining its humus content. 



Quality of the soil. — Soils vary widely in their original qualities, 

 both physical and chemical. All agricultural soils are supplied in 

 varying proportions with the necessary plant foods for crop produc- 

 tion. Soils that have plant food present in great abundance may 

 be said to be rich. They are not fertile, however, unless these plant 

 foods are in soluble form or unless the}" are rendered soluble as 

 rapidly as the various materials are required by the plant in the 

 process of growth. The quality of the soil from the standpoint of 

 fertility may be greatly improved by proper cultivation, crop rota- 

 tion, and the addition of humus, as well as by the application of lime 

 or other material that will improve its physical condition. At times 

 special treatments, such as subsoiling and drainage, are needed to 

 make the soil highly productive. 



SUBSOIL. 



In the growing of sugar beets the subsoil is often of equal im- 

 portance with the surface soil. 



Hardpan. — Frequently the surface soil is underlain by a hardpan 

 which it is impossible for the beet roots to penetrate. The hardpan 

 may be of natural formation or it may be induced by improper till- 

 age. If it is close to the surface and of such material that it can not 

 be broken up successfully, the profitable growing of sugar beets is 

 impossible. Beets produced under such conditions will be short, with 

 a resulting low tonnage, or they will be pushed out of the ground 

 and consequently will be low in sugar and purity. The nature of 

 the hardpan is of considerable importance in this connection. If it 

 is of rock and near the surface, little can be done to improve its 

 condition for sugar-beet culture, but if it is simply a close and com- 

 pact form of soil it may be broken up with a subsoil plow. Some- 

 times local areas of extremely hard subsoil are found in the sugar- 

 beet sections, and this condition constitutes a limiting factor in the 

 production of this crop in those areas as a whole or on certain farms 

 or fields, depending upon the location and distribution of the hard- 



