THE BEET-SUGAR INDUSTRY IN 1920. 33 



ing crops. Most of the competing crops may form a satisfactory 

 crop-rotation system with sugar beets in one or more of the recognized 

 sugar-beet areas. 



Beans. — In the farm-to-farm survey of the Office of Sugar-Plant 

 Investigations beans have been found as a competing crop in several 

 localities, and under certain conditions it is one of the strongest 

 competitors. This crop is easily produced and brings a fair return 

 to the farmer for the labor and money invested. '' In some of the 

 areas studied beans have ceased to be a competing crop because of 

 local conditions, chief of which is the presence of certain bean 

 diseases. It was believed that beans could follow beans profitably 

 in the same field for a number of years, but this, like all other crops, 

 is more satisfactory in the long run when grown in proper rotation 

 with other crops. As in the case of sugar beets, continuous cropping 

 with beans has enabled certain diseases of the bean to be propagated 

 from year to year, thereby becoming more widespread and more de- 

 structive, until bean production in certain areas is no longer profit- 

 able. If properly handled, beans should be a good crop to rotate with 

 sugar beets. They should not compete with the sugar beet to the 

 exclusion of the latter, for the' reasons above stated. The diseases 

 affecting sugar beets and beans are for the most part very different, 

 and for this reason these crops rotate well together. Again, the 

 sugar beet leaves the ground in good condition for the production 

 of the bean crop. If the beet crop has been properly handled the 

 weeds are eliminated, and in this respect the field is left in a good 

 condition for beans. Furthermore, sugar beets leave the ground in 

 good physical condition for a bean crop ; on the other hand, if beans 

 precede beets the}^ will leave the ground in good condition for the 

 sugar beets. The order of rotation, therefore, with these crops is 

 not particularly important. 



Tohacco.—Tob&cco is not generally grown in the sugar-beet areas, 

 but there are a few localities in which both tobacco and sugar beets 

 are produced. Though the tobacco crop is expensive to handle, the 

 returns under favorable conditions make it a strong competitor. 

 The methods used in growing tobacco do not usually lend themselves 

 well to crop rotation; for example, tobacco fields are usually heavily 

 fertilized with commercial fertilizer. Part of the results to be ex- 

 pected from these fertilizers should be apparent during the second 

 or even the third year after they are applied. Owing to this large 

 expense growers usually expect to use the same field for the tobacco 

 crop for a series of years, consequently it does not admit of ordinary 

 crop rotation. Again, the tobacco crop requires a large amount of 

 labor, some of which conflicts with the labor necessary for sugar- 

 beet production. If, however, a farmer can obtain sufficient labor 

 56830°— Bull. 995—21 3 



