550 



ROOT CROPS 



ROOT CROPS 



Preparation of the land. [See Mangels.] — Empha- 

 sis must be laid on the necessity of thorough prep- 

 aration of the land and securing iine tilth. Phos- 

 phatic fertilizers with barnyard manure are gener- 

 ally profitable, 400 to 600 pounds of acid phosphate 

 per acre being applied in addition to ten tons of 

 farm manure per acre. 



Seeding turnips. — Large, plump seed produces 

 very strong plants. Two and one-half to five 

 pounds, average four pounds, of seed per acre is 

 usually sown in the case of rutabagas and hybrids ; 

 and two to four pounds, average three pounds, per 

 acre in the case of common turnips, when the rows 

 are twenty-seven inches apart. Less would do if 

 we could be sure that the flea-beetles would not 

 kill many of the plants. The seed should be sown 

 at a depth of one-half to three-fourths inch, usually 

 the former, but in a dry season the latter may be 

 better. It can readily be sown too deep. The re- 

 sults obtained during the past two years at Cornell 

 University show that sowing on May 11 gave over 

 100 per cent better yield than sowing on June 12. 



Thinning. — The young plants come up about four 

 days after sowing and are ready for thinning in 

 three or four weeks. The stand of a root crop has 

 great influence on the yield, and to secure more 

 plants per acre it has been urged to make the rows 

 closer. This, however, eliminates the use of horse- 

 power machinery, necessitating hand labor and 

 rendering the crop unprofitable. In the case of 

 rutabagas, 26,000 to 30,000 plants must be grown 

 per acre, and with common turnips rather more. 

 Twenty-seven-inch rows are better than twenty- 

 four-inch, and thirty-inch rows are easier to culti- 

 vate than twenty-seven. Some of the distances 

 advocated are considered below : 



As with mangels, it is recommended that the 

 effort be made to secure the maximum yield per row, 

 and the use of thirty-inch rows with plants seven 

 to eight inches asunder in the row is suggested. 

 The common turnips may be left five or seven 

 inches asunder. Some of the advantages of wide 

 rows are better air circulation among the plants, 

 which aids in checking fungous diseases, and fewer 

 rows to cultivate and to thin, with a consequent 

 saving in labor. The object is to produce roots at 

 the least cost per bushel. Intertillage should be 

 given every seven to ten days until the foliage 

 meets in the rows. 



Harvesting. — The roots are usually pulled by 

 hand, and the necks and tops cut off and left in the 

 field. The roots are stored in root-cellars or pits. 

 Since these roots can withstand more frost than 

 mangels and are usually used earlier in the season, 

 they are stored after mangels are harvested. The 



roots should be dry when harvested and pitted, 

 and good ventilation and a low temperature should 

 be maintained in the storage. In Great Britain 

 common and hybrid-turnips are frequently con- 

 sumed in the field by folding sheep or young stock 

 on them. This practice has been used to a small 

 extent in some parts of northern United States. 



Aside from their value for cattle-feeding, there 

 is sometimes a market for the better quality tur- 

 nips for human consumption. Late-sown and not 

 too large rutabagas are barreled and shipped to 

 most of the large cities in the North, but for such 

 purposes varieties required by the different markets 

 should be secured. 



Enemies. 



Clubroot or anbury (Plasmodiophora brassicoe), 

 sometimes does considerable injury. For treatment, 

 see Cabbage. A soft rot due to a bacterium (Bacil- 

 lus earotovorus, Jones) has been doing serious injury 

 to the crop in some of the northern states. It is 

 most serious when a crop has reached maturity. 

 Late sowing or speedy consumption of the crop 

 seems to be the only means of combating it. A 

 brown bacterial rot (Pseudomonas campestris) fre- 

 quently ravages the crop when the cruciferous 

 plants are grown too closely together in the rota- 

 tion. 



The flea-beetle (Phyllotreta vittata), mentioned 

 under cabbage, frequently destroys the young 

 plants and necessitates resowing of the crop. 



Early sowing and plenty of seed, a good rotation, 

 having the soil in the best of tilth, liming, manuring 

 and timeliness in doing the work, will generally 

 put the plants in such a condition that they will 

 safely withstand most of the diseases and insect 

 attacks. 



Root Cellars and Storage Houses. Figs. 786-789. 

 By L. C. Corbett. 



Well-constructed pits are more desirable for the 

 storage of both fruits and vegetables than house 

 cellars. All offense from decaying vegetables is 

 thus removed from the dwelling, and as a rule a 

 lower and more satisfactory temperature for the 

 storage of such products can be maintained in root 

 cellars than in house cellars. The trifling expense 

 involved in the construction of a satisfactory root 

 cellar and the value of beets, turnips and carrots 

 as stock-food, should command much greater 

 attention for the root cellar from stockmen and 

 dairymen than has been given it in this country. 



In view of the character of the products to be 

 stored in a root cellar, cheapness of construction 

 is essential. The less expensive the construction, 

 that at the same time will be convenient, and 

 have a reasonable degree of permanence, the 

 more desirable. Convenience to the feeding place 

 is important because of the bulk and weight 

 of the product to be handled. Barn cellars are as .• 

 a rule, therefore, when practicable, most conve- 

 nient though not always least expensive. If roots 



