1922.] 



Sugar Beet G lowing 



05 



SUGAR BEET GROWING 

 IN HOLLAND AND BELGIUM. 



K. G. iiJDLING, 



School of Aijriculture, CUunhr'uhjc. 



The writer has spent several weeks in the Low Countries 

 making a close study of the methods adopted there in the culti- 

 \ation of sugar beet, and an attempt has been made in the 

 following article to deal with soniv^ of the points that •may hv of 

 service to British growers. 



Soil. — Though the sugar beet will grow well in most soils, it 

 does best on the medium and more friable soils. In Belgium 

 and Holland it is grown on soils which have the texture of fine 

 and coarse silts. In the province of Zeeland, e.y., the soil is 

 alluvial and contains a high percentage of calcium carbonate, 

 while in North Brabant the soil is of a distinctly sandy character. 

 Land which produces good crops of mangolds does not necessarily 

 produce good crops of beet, so that farmers should choose the site 

 for cultivation with care, and preference should be given to the 

 lighter portions of the farm. 



Careful consideration should he given to the drainage of the 

 land, for land which " hes wet " is in every sense unsatis- 

 factory. In Holland great stress is laid upon the advantages of 

 " thorough " drainage, but many farmers adopt a system of 

 open surface drains. These are 18 inches deep, and are placed 

 from 9 to 25 feet apart according to the texture of the soil, with 

 outlets into a main drain 2 feet 6 inches in depth. Examination 

 of lands so drained during the wet months of the year showed 

 that all surplus water was effectively removed. 



Rainfall. — This is an important factor in the cultivation of 

 tlie beet crop. In Holland it is stated that the best results ar(^ 

 obtained when there is plenty of rain during the late spring and 

 early summer to enable the seeds to germinate, and die young 

 plants to make (piick growth, followed, when the roots are well 

 formed, by di-y conditions for the maturing of the plants and the 

 formation of a high sugar content. This fact has been estab- 

 lished also in the laboratories of the sugar factories. Not only 

 is the sugar content higher in a dry summer, bnt when once th(^ 

 plants have come well away m the spring a dry pc^riod docs not 

 have an adverse effect on the weight of the crop. Iv the dry 

 season of 192L where th(^ bec^t was planted early, as in Zeeland, 

 the weight of the crop was 20 ]ier cent, above the average, but 

 late planting in parts of Bcdgium resulted in many cases in gr(>at 



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