14 BULLETIN 995, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



thereby increasing' the yield per acre. Careful attention has been 

 given to the factor of stand during the last few years, and by 

 actual count in many fields in all parts of the sugar-beet area it 

 has been found that the stand at harvest time very frequently is 

 as low as 50 or 60 per cent of a possible 100. It is very seldom that 

 a field has more than 80 per cent of a perfect stand at harvest time. 

 Many factors influence the stand, some of the most important of 

 which have been carefully studied and are discussed below. 



Seed. — The quality of the seed is one of the primary factors in 

 producing a stand of sugar beets. All beet seed imported from 

 foreign countries must be up to a certain standard of germination 

 and purity ; otherwise it need not be accepted. As a rule sugar-beet 

 seed stored under proper conditions will retain its vitality six or 

 seven years. Usually we have no means of knowing the age of the 

 seed that is shipped to this country, and it is entirely possible that 

 seed imported is sometimes near the limit of its vitality and if held 

 over for one or two years may deteriorate in germinating power. It 

 is customary for sugar companies to retain a part of their seed from 

 year to year to provide for replanting or to take care of belated con- 

 tracts. All reserved seed, as well as new lots, should be carefully 

 tested for germination before it is given to the growers. If the 

 germination of the seed is too low to produce a good stand of beets 

 at the usual rate of planting, either the seed should be discarded 

 entirely or a sufficient quantity of seed should be planted to insure a 

 good stand. 



With American grown sugar-beet seed no difficulty should be met 

 in ascertaining its age; in fact, all American grown sugar-beet seed 

 is utilized within a year or two following its production, so that at 

 present there is no danger of the home-grown seed losing its germi- 

 nating power before it is planted. In general, domestic sugar-beet 

 seed shows a higher germi liability than is shown" by the imported 

 seed. All American seed, however, should be tested carefully for 

 germination, because certain conditions during the process of growth, 

 development, and storage of the seed may render it weak or non- 

 germinable. One of the most important factors affecting beet seed 

 adversely during its development is the false chinch bug, which occa- 

 sionally appears in some beet-seed growing localities. This insect 

 infests the beet-seed balls and the tender leaves and stalks and by 

 sucking the juice from the plant may prevent the seed from develop- 

 ing and maturing. 1 The health and vitality of the beet root when 

 planted for seed is another important factor influencing the quality 

 of the seed. Beet roots that have been weakened by Phoma rot or 

 other diseases of the root will sometimes produce seed stalks, and fre- 



1 For control measures, see p. 40. 



