74 The Sugar-Beet in America 
PLANT-FOOD REQUIREMENTS OF BEETS 
As previously stated, all crops use the same foods, but 
they do not use these foods in the same proportion, and as 
a result, the various crops have different fertilizer needs. 
Of the seven mineral foods used by crops, all are present 
in most soils in sufficient quantity to meet the needs 
except nitrogen, potash, and phosphorus. In a few 
exceptional soils other minerals are lacking, but they form 
no important need. The following table gives the amount 
of these scarce plant-foods used by sugar-beets in com- 
parison with other crops: 
Taste IV.— Minera, Foops REMovep FROM THE SOIL BY 
Crops 
Gror Yreip NITROGEN Potasa P bani’ 
Sugar-beets | 10 tons 30.0 pounds | 70.0 pounds | 14.0 pounds 
Potatoes 6 tons 47.0 pounds | 76.5 pounds | 21.5 pounds 
Wheat . .|30bushels| 48.0 pounds | 28.8 pounds | 21.1 pounds 
Barley . .|40bushels| 48.0 pounds | 35.7 pounds | 20.7 pounds 
Oats. .|45 bushels | 55.0 pounds | 43.1 pounds | 19.4 pounds 
Corn .| 40 bushels | 56.0 pounds | 23.0 pounds | 21.0 pounds 
Meadow 
hay . 1.5 tons | 49.0 pounds] 50.9 pounds | 12.3 pounds 
Red clover | 2.0 tons | 102.0 pounds | 83.4 pounds | 24.9 pounds 
This table shows that sugar-beets use relatively large 
quantities of potash but not so much nitrogen or phos- 
phoric acid. 
Studies of the effect of the various fertilizers on growth 
have shown that excessive nitrogen stimulates leaf growth. 
