THE BEET-SUGAR INDUSTRY IN 1920. 13 
fered with. This may sometimes be remedied by prompt cultivation, 
although the plants are often so firmly embedded in the crust that 
cultivation is difficult without serious injury to the plants. Some- 
times a moderately heavy roller of one of the types shown in Plate 
II will produce the desired result in breaking- the crust. In irrigated 
sections every effort should be made to retain the fall or winter 
moisture in the soil, and if the ground is dry in the fall, irrigation 
is generally desirable. The soil should be sufficiently moist when 
the seed is planted to produce prompt and complete germination, 
and there should be sufficient moisture in the soil to maintain a 
steady growth for several weeks. As soon as the plants indicate that 
they are suffering from lack of moisture they should be irrigated. 
When beets wilt during the day and fail to revive at night they 
should be watered without delay. Usually from one to three irriga- 
tions during the growing season are sufficient to produce a crop in 
most of the irrigated sections where sugar beets are grown. When 
beets are irrigated the soil should be thoroughly wet, and every effort 
should then be made to retain the moisture as long as possible by 
frequent cultivation. 
Sunshine. — The third element of climate which has a marked 
effect on the quality of sugar beets is light, over which man has little 
control except in the selection of locality. It is generally believed 
that direct sunshine is an important factor in the production and 
storage of sugar in the beet; observation indicates, however, that 
diffused light is almost, if not quite, as effective in producing and 
storing sugar. The importance of light should not be overlooked, 
however, since without it the leaves could not manufacture sugar. 
Beet sugar is all made in the beet leaves by the action of light upon 
the leaf green when moisture and carbonic-acid gas are present. 
Without light this action in the leaf can not take place, no matter 
how favorable may be all other conditions for growth and sugar 
production. 
SUGAR-BEET STAND. 
One of the most important factors in sugar-beet production is the 
stand at harvest time. A perfect stand of beets with the usual width 
of row and the proper distance of spacing would consist of 25,000 
to 40,000 plants to the acre. If each of the beet roots harvested 
weighed 1 pound, which is below the average in most fields, there 
should be 12^ to 20 tons of roots per acre. As a matter of fact the 
sugar-beet stands are only from 50 per cent to 80 per cent perfect, 
and the average yield of beets in the United States is about 10 tons. 
Absolutely perfect stands are not to be expected, considering the 
many factors influencing the stand and the large area annually in 
sugar beets, now approximately 1,000,000 acres. However, there 
should be no difficulty in greatly raising the percentage of stand. 
