5S2 



SUGAR-BEET 



SUGAR-BEET 



demonstrated beyond question, and it is undoubtedly 

 only a matter of time when all beet seed required 

 by American growers will be produced on American 

 soil. 



Planting. — After the seed-bed has been thor- 

 oughly prepared in the way already indicated, the 



Fie. 819. Small, spreading beet seed-stalks (about Are 

 feet across). 



seed is planted, usually in solid rows, by means of 

 a four-row planter. Occasionally a hill dropper is 

 used, but this has not yet come into general use, 

 since the growers are afraid that this method of 

 planting will injure the chances for a good stand. 

 For the solid-row method a drill planting four rows 

 at a time is commonly used. The space between 

 the rows varies from fourteen to twenty-eight 

 inches, eighteen or twenty inches being the most 

 common. The distance between the rows is deter- 

 mined largely by the quality and condition of the 

 soil, especially as regards moisture; and by the 

 method of cultivation that is to be employed. 



Fifteen to twenty pounds of seed per acre is 

 recommended in order to insure a good stand, — a 

 condition on which the tonnage and the sugar per 

 acre depend in a large measure. A much smaller 

 quantity of seed is required with the hill dropper. 

 The seed is planted just deep enough so that it 

 comes into contact with the moist earth and is cov- 

 ered with a thin layer of fine soil one-half to one 

 and one-half inches deep. Under favorable condi- 

 tions of moisture and temperature, the plants are 

 up in four to ten days. Inexperienced growers 

 should be cautioned against planting the seed too 

 deep, since the inability of the seedlings to push 

 their way through a too thick layer of soil may 

 result in a very unfavorable stand. In the irrigated 

 sections it is not uncommon to irrigate the plants 

 up, but in those areas where moisture depends on 

 rainfall it" is necessary to wait until the soil is 

 sufficiently moist before planting. 



Blocking and thinning. -^ka soon as the T)lant3 

 are large enough so they can be handled, i. e., 

 when they have about four leaves, they are blocked 

 and thinned. Blocking consists in cutting the seed- 

 ling beets out of the solid row, leaving small tufts 

 or bunches of beets at intervals of eight or ten 

 inches. This operation is usually performed by 

 means of a hand hoe, although blocking machines 

 operated by horse-power are coming into use in 

 some localities. 



Having blocked the beets, the next process, called 

 thinning, consists in pulling from these remaining 

 clumps or tufts all the beets but one, thus giving 

 the remaining beet every possible chance to develop. 

 Thinning is one of the most laborious and at the 

 same time one of the most important operations in 

 growing sugar-beets. If the thinning is not done 

 properly, or if it is delayed too long, the yield per 

 acre is greatly reduced. The closeness of the seed- 

 ling beets in the clumps that are left after blocking 

 makes it necessary to do the thinning by 

 hand. The structure of the seed-balls ren- 

 ders it impossible to plant the seeds far 

 ^■^ enough apart in the row to get one plant 

 '^ in a place. As already pointed out, only a 

 few of the seeds are separate, most of them 

 being produced in balls of two to seven. The De- 

 partment of Agriculture has undertaken to produce 

 a plant that will yield only single-germ beet seed. 

 If such seed can be produced in quantity sufficient 

 for commercial use, hand-thinning may be aban- 

 doned, since the seeds can then be planted close 

 enough together to insure a good stand and at the 

 same time far enough apart in the row so that the 

 resulting plants can be cut out with a hoe or other 

 implement. 



Hoeing and cultivation. — Sugar-beets receive two 

 to four hoeings in the season. The first hoeing is 

 frequently given at the time of thinning ; but often 

 the beets, more or less disturbed by the thinning, 

 are allowed to reestablish themselves first. Hoeing 

 serves the twofold purpose of destroying the weeds 

 and of keeping the soil and the plants in condition 

 to conserve mois- 

 ture, hence indi- 

 rectly inducing 

 the plants to feed 

 or grow. It is a 

 common saying 

 among *the Ger- 

 man beet-grow- 

 ers that the 

 sugar is hoe,d 

 into the beet. 



Cultivating is begun as soon as the beets are 

 large enough so that the rows can be followed, 

 and is repeated at longer or shorter intervals until 

 the tops cover the ground. Owing to the narrow- 

 ness of the rows as compared with most field crops, 

 specially constructed cultivators are required. 

 Some are made so that they will cultivate a single 

 row at a time, but those most commonly in use 

 will work two rows at a time. They are usually 

 provided with two sets of teeth, namely, "weeders" 

 and "duck feet." The weeders are thin blades of 



Fig. 820. Pile of seed beets, as seen 

 wben opened in the spring. 



