Deterioration Sugar Beets Due to Nitrates 107 
BEETS GROWN WITH FERTILIZERS. 
Fertilizers 
Used 
Sugar 
Total 
Nitrogen 
Nitric 
Nitrogen 
Injurious 
N per 
Injurious 
Ash per 
per Acre 
Percent 
Percent 
Percent 
100 Sugar 
100 Sug. 
1... 
. . 300 pounds K* 
14.5 
0.12320 
0.00250 
0.35827 
4.4445 
2. . . 
. . 400 pounds P 
14.1 
0.10875$ 
0.00987 
0.27288 
4.5900 
3. . . 
. . 160 pounds K 
100 pounds N 
14.1 
0.21900 
0.01333 
0.95531 
7.6843 
4. . . 
. . 240 pounds P 
100 pounds N 
12.4 
0.15345 
0.01333 
0.58334 
6.4200 
5. . . 
. . 220 pounds P 
440 pounds N 
13.6 
0.23270 
0.00832 
0.94632 
5.2692 
6. . . 
. . 220 pounds P 
260 pounds K 
14.7 
0.17150 
0.00865 
0.62047 
4.8520 
7. . . 
. . 250 pounds P 
170 pounds K 
200 pounds N 
13.7 
0.17940 
0.01244 
0.71351 
5.4855 
8. . . 
. . 440 pounds P 
300 pounds K 
200 pounds N 
15.3$ 
0.13760 
0.00250 
0.42810 
4.1634 
9. . . 
. . 500 pounds P 
300 pounds K 
200 pounds N 
13.3 
0.17770 
0.01846 
0.65603 
6.3320 
The 250 pounds per acre produced favorable results in all respects, 
yield, percentage of sugar, injurious nitrogen and injurious ash. 
The application of 500—or the second application of 250 pounds— 
depressed the crop and the percentage of sugar and increased the 
percentage of nitrogen and also that of the nitric nitrogen. Further, 
it increased the injurious nitrogen and the injurious ash per 100 of 
sugar. The results presented by the fertilizer experiments in which 
sodic nitrate was added permits the inference that this is the usual 
effect of the nitrate. The following tabular statement presents the 
results of our further experiments to study this point. The supply 
of plant food and water were abundant, but we furnished an over- 
supply of nitrates. The samples were harvested 3 Nov. 1910. 
Amount of /Total Nitric Injurious Injurious 
Sodic Nitrate Sugar Nitrogen Nitrogen N per Ash per 
per Acre Percent Percent Percent 100 Sugar 100 Sug. 
250 pounds. 16.5 0.14485 0.00144 0.36424 2.1267 
500 pounds. 15.8 0.20535 0.01009 0.68221 3.2050 
750 pounds. 13.4 0.29610 0.04143 1.29250 4.7812 
1,000 pounds. 11.0 0.25505 0.04983 1.40267 5.4718 
1,250 pounds. 12.8 0.25360 0.04225 1.11500 4.0490 
There can be no question about the quality of these beets nor 
the direct effects of the nitrate when present in these quantities. 
Whatever variations of soil in these acre plots may have existed to 
*P stands for superphosphate 13.19% P 2 0 5 , K for potassic sulphate 48.55% 
K..O, N for sodic nitrate 96.60% NaNO s . 
tSee note in full statement of Analysis XXX. 
$This was a sample of eight beets. The sugar is 1.2 percent higher than 
the factory returns. 
