SUGAR BEETS : PREVENTABLE LOSSES IN CULTURE. 



15 



to germinate and sprout before the beet seedlings appear above 

 ground, greatly retarding and stunting the latter. (PL II.) 1 



Too frequently manuring is delayed until spring, when, in con- 

 junction with faulty preparation of the ground, pockets of half- 

 rotted manure are left in the soil. These cause the taproots of seed- 

 ling beets coming in contact with them to become sprangling and 

 ill-shaped. It is believed to be the best practice to apply manure to 

 a preceding crop instead of directly to beets. 



In irrigated districts much loss is occasioned by the imperfect 

 grading and leveling of the surface of the field; thus, low spots re- 

 main in some places and high ones in others. The low areas are 



Fig. 2. — A homemade float used in leveling a beet field preparatory Lo sowing the seed. 



flooded with every irrigation (PL III), while the elevated places, if 

 extensive, suffer drought or render much extra work necessary to 

 get the water over them. In either case, many plants are killed 

 (%. 3). 



It is also apparent that losses in the stand occur on account of 

 lack of responsiveness of the seed drills to irregularities in the sur- 

 face of the field, resulting in the scattering of seed on the surface of 

 the ground when individual drills pass over depressed areas. Little 

 or none of the uncovered seed germinates; if the seed were slightly 

 covered it might lie there in the dry surface soil until a shower caused 



1 The subsequent operations of disking, harrowing, and floating the fields (fig. 2) are not sufficiently 

 thorough, leaving the seed bed too rough and cloddy and resulting in a reduced percentage of germination 

 of the beet seed. 



