Show ROOTS OF THE SUGAR BEETS one great lesson to be learned I 1 Is more and better cultivation deep at first last year we began to investigate tho the root system 0 of sugar beets believing that by so doine doing we could more nearly come to some conclusions as to the method methods of cultivation As eoon soon as the small beet appears aboe the ground the top root has attained a length 0 of three to four inches from this time oa on the growth Is very rapid plants one week old have side roots two inches in length the top root grows downward con unless it meets with some obstruction st in that case it will either grow sideways or become a very much le rooted plant it must i be borne in mind that the main root or beet cannot draw any an r nourishment from the soli soi this must naturally be done by the small or fibrous roots that are found on both sides of the beet As we pull the beets we find the fibrous roots very short on n the main root it was found however that these email small roots at fit the time the beeta beets are seven to eight weeks beeks old run AS tar far as 15 to IS 18 inches into in tl the rows thus we found that by bating the beeta beets too deep after the seventh week we destroy a great deal of the root system of the plant the main root or beet itself appear appears to have ha e attained nearly all of its downward growth by the eighth week meek that ig Is after that time the growth in length is very slow whereas the ex par islon or widening out of the root takes place in many instances where we cut the i main or top root of a small beet of two and three weeks of age the plant made but very slow growth after such cutting or died entirely where the same operation was mas performed on old er plants no serious results were no this in a manner proved that during the carly period of the plants life the top root is the root that aids largely in supplying the necessary food after a certain period this function Is lost and the duties of support ing the plant falls upon the fibrous roots to cultivate properly we should de stroy na as few roots as possible this then means deep cultivation in the early stages of the beets growth for purpose of loosening the eoll soil and a gradual shallow cultivation toward the later part of the season we have often seen fields where e farmers irrigate in order to keep from cultivating there Is a great difference between the two to cultivation Is not for the sole purpose of destroying weeds but to loosen the soil so that the roots may penetrate it more easily and to get air into it by irrigating we ob tain just the opposite of that which la Is desired we pack the soil and shut the air from the roots the one great lesson that we must learn more thoroughly than all else in beet culture ie to more and better auld but not too late in the season as then we break too many leaves from the plants and this la Is detrimental tor for the best beat results |