14 BULLETIN 721, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUEE. 



may render it weak or nongerminable. One of the most important 

 factors affectino- beet seed adversely during its development is the 

 false chinch bug, which occasionally appears in some beet-seed grow- 

 ing localities. These insects infest the beet-seed balls and stalks 

 and by sucking the juice from the plant may prevent the seed from 

 maturing. Careful experiments are now under way, in cooperation 

 with the Bureau of Entomology, looking to the control of this pest. 

 The health and vitality of the beet root when planted for seed is an- 

 other 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 frequently the seed will 

 form; but the plants often die before the seed is mature. If the 

 seed stalks bearing the nonmatured seed are harvested and the seed 

 balls from these stalks are mixed with the matured seed, it is evident 

 that the percentage of germination will be materially reduced. Hot 

 dry winds at the time the seed is forming tend to prevent the seed 

 balls from maturing. 



The water supply during the growing season has also a marked 

 effect upon the quality of the seed. If the supply of moisture is too 

 low, especially at the time when the seed is forming, all will not ma- 

 ture and the yield of viable seed will be reduced. In the humid sec- 

 tions where seed i& grown we have no direct control over the mois- 

 ture supply except in so far as we are able to retain the moisture in 

 the soil by proper methods of cultivation. In the irrigated sections 

 wherever water is constantly available the moisture supply is un- 

 der the control of the grower. It is not advisable to undertake the 

 growing of sugar-beet seed in those irrigated sections where an 

 abundant supply of water is not available for irrigation when needed. 



The seed bed. — The condition of the seed bed as a factor influenc- 

 ing sugar-beet stands is of an importance equal to the quality of the 

 seed. In general, the seed bed should be firm and moist and capable 

 of retaining its moisture under all conditions for a considerable 

 period. In order to produce such a seed bed the soil should be thor- 

 oughly supplied with humus. The ground should be plowed in the 

 fall, in order that it may catch the winter rain and snow, and the 

 surface should be harrowed as early as possible in the spring, in 

 order to retain as fully as possible the moisture in the soil at that 

 time. The seed bed should be worked from time to time to destroy 

 the weeds that may appear, as they rob the soil of moisture as well as 

 of fertility. Just before planting, the seed bed should be thoroughly 

 worked down and firmed, so that the surface will be uniform in tex- 

 ture and in firmness. If the bed is not uniformly firmed, the drill 

 wheels will sink deeper in some places in the field than in others, with 

 the result that some of the seed will be so deeply covered that the 

 plants will not reach the light or they will be more or less retarded, 



