Show basas GROWING SUGAR BEETS FOR PROFIT prepared by the united 1 16 d states department of r agriculture I 1 alture ul ture althou although gli well suited to the growing ok 0 sugar beets beet with respect to climatic and soil conditions minnesota has been among themsie the moie more backward of tile the producing states in extending its acreage at present there Is only on one e beet sugar mill in ibi tile the state compared with three lif in iowa near the minnesota line and six in wise wisconsin ansin minnesota Is one of the states where sugar beets can bo be grown under humid dondit conditions ions farther west ivest irrigation usually Is nee essary A any ny soil la is satisfactory provided the climatic conditions are favorable any good soil boll it if properly drained fertilized and other otherwise vose fitted as a seed and root bad wl alff produce satisfactory sugar beets sandy soils sells and clay loams coams however lio lire are generally regarded dedas as the best soils in general more depends upon the physical I 1 condition of the soil and th the 0 way in which it Is w worked than upon its strict classification sifi cation the physical condition on depends pe ads upon a number 0 of f factors which are of prime import importance nee in the selection and preparation of the ground for example tile the soil shou should id bo well drained and at the same time it should be capable of bolding ji a sull amount of moisture for fai f the 0 needs of the beets even the sp so called muck soils will produce good beets if they aro are w well oil drained and properly worked on the oi other fie er hand the loamy 0 soils 0 alls will sometimes produce very poor crops if not well ruined or if otherwise improperly handled by working when too wet or too dry hardpan soils should be avoided especially li it they are so near the surface that abat they will I 1 interfere itt with the proper growth and development of tile the roots very porous or gravelly sub soils soil 9 which per permit mit leaching will not give the best results with sugar beets any more than with other crops the field selected should be reason ably free or of weeds as extreme foulness of ground adds very materially to tho the cost of growing beets T the lie field too 00 oo must be kept free of weeds if satisfactory results are to be obtained at all other things being equal an ave average r tom temperature ure of 70 degrees P during the growing season which chic h la Is usually from may to september inclusive will give the best results so far as the sugar content of the beets Is concerned with a high temper temperature aWre the sugar does not seera to form read readily and if the temperature Is too low tile the beets do not grow well and the tonnage Is correspondingly low spring and fall temperatures too have much to do with the success or failure of beet culture favorable for sugar cold nights and moderately warm days in the latter part of summer and in the fall are most favorable for the rit storage orage of sugar in the beets the great danger from extreme cold in the fall Is that the beets may be frozen in the ground growers should alm aim to got get their beets out of the ground and dell delivered vered to the sugar company or protected from the cold before freezing weather sets in if the roots themselves freeze after they are har vested no great danti damage will NOR result provided they remain frozen until they are worked through tile the mill but if they alternately freeze and thaw they will soon blacken deedy decoy and become worthless for sugar making purposes frosten beats should not be put into the facton sheds with the expectation of f let iving them for any length of time lime its iq they will avil certainly spoil the only ire way vav Is to ro get the beets bats out of the olind n before they freeze and put suf tit ro erang over them so that they ill 1 not lie be frosted awo T Import tint points in plowing for sugar beets should be kept in mind numbly tile tho tinie time and depth experience tins has chown that the best results ure tire genk obtained by plowing for 5 dh ih i h lib dh beets in the fall taking ad of this fact the beet grower will t try r y to arre arrange ruge work and his crop r ro r so that he be can plow lils ills beet beati gr ground aund in the fall brov provided led tile the son soil and weather conditions will peri permit nit it lifts has been demonstrated that deep deen plowing especially of the ilio heavier solli soil it if done in the tall fall will ivill give tile best beet I 1 I 1 results for sugar beets if tho the soil it is deep and well supplied e with and Is plowed in the fall it Is possible to plow foo deep deca provided provid ed the ground Is in condition to be plowed at all it if tho the sollis soil Is shu shallow allow anti and under lain with clay st it will bo be better to plow only one or two inches deeper than thail usual and then use uso the subsoil plow if the plowing roust must bo be delayed until spring it Is not adai advisable able to plow more than one or two inches deeper than tho the grou ground nd was previously plowed object of plowing the whole object of plowing should be to make a deep rich seed and root it bed ed which can be penetrated easily by tile the beet roots find and from which tile the plants can draw an abundant supply of food necessary for their constant and rapid growth the seed bed must bo be firm enough to hold the plants ss sri aurely in place and to retain a good supply of moisture but not so BO compact thai the air a fr cannot cir circulate culat freely through it if the seed bed lg Is care f ully fully selected properly supplied with humus and thoroughly prepared prepare the tha success su access of the crop to Is more than half ass assured ared considering the yield beld find quality of ct the beets as compared with tho the cost of growing them with different widths of rows raws 20 incite sIs generally sails fact factory ory although this width of row i requires a s special cultivator good strong land that la Is capable of growing a satisfactory row of beets every two twenty nty inel es will soon pay for a beet cultivator in the extra yield when cora coin pared with the wider row in which a corn cultivator could bo used shallow planting one half to three fourtha of an in inch cb Is advisable provided there Is moisture enough inthe in the poll to pro duce ducal germination at present practically nil all sugar beet seed Is planted in solid rows As soon as the plants have developed from four to six leaves they must be spaced and thinned since they must stand one to in a place at intervals binl ervais of from eight to t welve twelve inches inthe in the row in order to fo produce beet roots satis satisfactory fact ory in yield and qu quality allty the beets should receive a good hoeing at the time they ore are thinned the earth loosened on nil all sides and weeds c carefully are fully removed the number of 0 subsequent ent goeings will depend upon local conditions cultivation should begin just jus t as soon as the rows can be followed it Is usually possible to cultivate once before the spacing and thinning aro anro done A second should be ba given as soon as they straighten up after thinning no fixed rule can ba laid down as to the number of that a field should receive dur ing the season operation of harvesting Ilar harvesting vesting sugar beets beets consists of 0 three distinct operations lifting pull ing and topping 0 the lifting Is usually done either with a double pointed implement somewhat resembling fi a i two pointed plow or by means of a side lifter which Is a small slice alioe or j plow on the end of a long shank after J the beets are loosened they should be thrown into piles in knocking off the earth from the beets care should be taken not to bruise the roots unnecessarily 1 in topping the beets should bo be cut off squarely at the lowest leaf sear scar this Is usually done with ono one stroke of a heavy knife the beets should then be covered to prevent evaporation the routs roots work i much better in tho the mill milf if ff they are i kept fresh and crisp eglip and they lose considerable weight if exposed to the sun and wind 12 e 4 4 ftc 1 Y A aw ml AN p cultivating sugar beets |