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Show I! SUGAR BEET SUBJECT OF A B BULLETIN Department of Agriculture Issues Is-sues Instructions on Plant-i Plant-i ing and Care. . I FOR IRRIGATED LANDS J Covers Conditions to Be Con- j sidered in Western Por- ( tion of Country. It Xcthods of culture for the sugar j! beet in the central, western nnd south j) western portions of the United States aro dealt with in the department of ng- riculturo's new bulletin, "Sugar Beet i tlrowine Under Irrigation." This is lj the second bulletin of iuterest to sugar lj I'oet growers which has been issued ro ll ccntly. The other was entitled Su- ! tfar Beet Growing Under Humid Con- I, ditions,-"' and was of interest nioro par- ticulurly to the northern portions of our country, where most of the present su-1 su-1 gar beet crop is grown. ! While thcro is a feeling of safety in having an unlimited supply of water j lor irrigation purposes, it must always be remembered that irrigation coats 1 money and labor, says the govern- ) .'nt s investigator. Such precipita tion of moisture then, as there is in a locality should not be permitted to cs-, cs-, cape from tho soil with the idea that more water can always bo applied when needed. All moisture that falls upon the ground and is received and retained by the soil acts upon the plant roods day after day and accomplishes tnost mr plant growth. Precipitation is nature na-ture s gift, and should uovor be dc-c dc-c apisod. Tho ground in irrigated sections where tho sugar beet plant is grown should be plowed to a good depth in J thp fall and every effort in a do to re- tain the moisture in tho soil from tho tjiuo the previous crop is harvested unit un-it 111 tho beet crop js laid by. II Soil Conditions. Much dopenda upon the condition of the soil as to whether or not it is able fc to receive and retain tho moisture. A I largo number of showers may show sov- I , ,r-il inches of rainfall in the aggrcguTNs, I j'.i'd yet thev may have accomplished U little, if any, good so far as crop pro- I duct ion is concerned, because they I - ai,l,'l moisten the ground to a suf- I fii'ient depth. On the other hand, one I or more heavy, dushing rains may show I satisfactory total rainfall for tho sea- I i ou and at the same time be entirely I mis-alisfactory (from tho standpoint of p fop production. Indeed, such rains I may bo moro injurious than beneficial, because of packing and crusting the f ground. A record of the total rainfall I tor a season, or even month by month, P is of littlo value unless we k'now tho I nature and amount of each prccipita- I tiou. The joint of most vital impor- I, tancr- is to have tho ground in coudi- t'on to receive as much as nossiblo of ft" tho moisture that falls upon it and then to make every cfTort to retain that , moisture in tho soil. ,.. Other points to bo considered bv ! growers of sugar beets under irrigation j , are the following: . Sugar boot soil should be selected t with reference to its fertility, its pbvs- I, condition, its previous cropping, I ud its ability to be properly drained I and irrigated. I The seed and root bods should bo so b prepared that they will bo line, linn, ft moist and well aerated, with a sufii- i cioutly lumpy mulch on the surface to i. prevent blowing. V Boot ground should never be Hooded J after the seed is "planted. I The soil should be well supplied with V humus. I Beet seed should be planted in moist l soil, but not moro than one and one L half inches deep. Should Be Rolaled. Booty should be spaced and thinned Ii just as soon ns thoy arc largo enough t to handle. ' Beets should bo cultivated and hoed i otton enough to destroy all weeds and I" to keep the entire surface eft the ground C covered with a mulch. J i( Beets should alwai-s be rotated with R other crops hi order to keep tho soil in t good tilth and free from pests. I Livestock, especially dairy cows, LJ should always be found on beet farms. j The by-products of tho sugar beet !.d of tho sugar mill uro worthy of careful attention. These are described j iu detail iu both tho newly issued bul ' lctins on the sugar beet. PPH i Besides the precipitation, two im- j portaut climatic factors to bo eonsid- PPH rcd arc the temperature and winds. Bn 'oth high and low temperatures have I a direct bearing upon the growth or II qualify of the beets. A study of the 1 1 most successful sugar beet localities of I tho world leads to the conclusion that hoots of the best quality cannot be ( grown where- the average temperature ; lor tho growing senson is much above : i 7') degrees Farhonheit. This does not moan that sugar beets cannot be sue-1 sue-1 ocssfnlly grown in warm countries cr ;n warm sections of a country, but it dors mean that, in such localities beets I should he produced (luring the cooler i portion n( tho year, which is now done fucccssiully in certain portions of oi;r owu country. It is possible that beets adapted to higher temperatures mav be produced by selection and breeding, and I iu this way the present large sugar bcot territory in the United States mav I be greatly increased. Planting Advice. Low temperatures are most likely to I 1 he injurious to sugar beets when tho , plantlets are just breaking through the I. "round. At this period tho youug plants j. are very tender -and susceptible to in-'', in-'', j"r.v by frost, but after tho roots aro j. establish ml in tho soil they rapidly bc-'omo bc-'omo hardy and resistant to frost" to a f; narked degree. Since the time of kill-jj kill-jj "ig frosts varies from year to vcar in g the same territory it. is not always pos-x pos-x idble to avoid injury from this" cause, ii V killing frost when the beets are com-f com-f ; ing up docs not destroy the chanco for w, a successful beet crop, but it often no-P; no-P; cessitates the expanse and labor of ro-O ro-O plnnting. It is therefore wiso to delay tho planting until the irroimd is warm !; and the growing conditions are other-f other-f wise favorable, sinco such conditions :u will rapidly push the beets bevond the 'j leriod of frost injury. When the boots If are mature thoy will stand n severe tc freeze without injury. The great dan-c dan-c ger from low temperatures at the end Jj of the growing season is that the beets ffi may be frozen in tho ground, making P the harvesting of the crop dithcult or fi even impossible. To avoid this daiiger ud the consequent loss that might re- Hbj ''lt from such a condition it is udvis- PPpH able to get tho beets out of tho ground as soon as possible after thev aro ripe and to cover them to avoid freezing or drying. Apparently beet roots aro not injured for sugar-making purposes by freezing, provided that thev freeze and remain frozen uutil they are put through tho mill, bul; alternate freezing freez-ing and thawing oauses them to decay and blacken, so that their value for sugar su-gar making is materially decreased. Winds Injurious. Vinds are brielly mentioned in con-necttou con-necttou with soil selection for sugar beets, but thoy have a still wider bearing bear-ing upon crop conditions. Not only do high winds have a tendency to destroy young beets und other plants by cutting and burying them with shifting sands, but they Lave a marked inliuenco upon tho amount of evaporation from tho soil. For this reason a given amount of moihture in a locality where hot, dry winds prevail during the spring ie much less effective in crop production than would be tho same amount of moisture in a locality where such winds do not prevail, other conditions being tho same. However, the injurious effects of winds may bo overcome to a groat tont by tho uso of proper cultural methods. meth-ods. For oxamnlo, both the blowing of tho soil and the excessive evaporation may often be reduced to tho poiut of successful crop production by keeping tho surface of the ground covered with a lump mulch. Tho mulch retard tho evaporation, while its lumpy condition reduces tho shifting of the soil. Thn cutting action of tho shifting sand mav bo controlled by planting the bcot tows at right angles to tho direction of the prevailing, winds when practicable and by attaching ungating shovels to the drills, so that ridges capablo of protecting pro-tecting the yonng plants will bo thrown up between the rows at planting lime. It is tmo thnt the slope of the land and, the consequent direction of irrigation irri-gation must also be considered in planting plant-ing the beetB, but whenever practicable tho rows should be at right angles to tho direction of the prevailing winds. |
