Show irrigate beets early almost every spring many fields of sugar beets are not irrigated early enough says professor geo stewart of the utah agricultural experiment station when the afie land that has been sown to beets dries out it does docs just as any other land does that is it begins drying at the surface if ae the rate of evaporation is rapid then the soil may dry out complexly as far down as the beet roots extend unless showers come or unless the land is irrigated such a condition is almost certain to be disaster ous to the crop many of the beets are killed thereby making the stand thin and many more a are re so weakened that disease and insets can injure them much more seriously than would otherwise be the case on the experiment pam farm at logon logan well land in which the moisture supply was maintained at the proper pr ei r degree of wetness there was no injury from plant diseases whereas land improperly or irrigated and allowed to become too dry had infestations amounting to 85 per cent yields could frequently be much increased by very light irrigations early elou enough to wet the dry surface this would keep the beets growing vigorously tho the impression held by too many farmers that water should be withheld as long as possible is wrong plants allowed to suffer for water never fully re recover covet many are killed by disease that might have escaped if ff they had been kept growing heavy applications of water are not necessary only enough to wet tho the surface soil this early light irrigation is merly to wet the surface and should not be co considered ld to td take the place of a real irrigation this Is due in part to contracting labor and in part to the me fact that the labor is not properly supervised thero there is nothing that a farmer can do that will bring him noro more ample return than to spend some of disown his own time in tho the field showing the boys or labors how tho the work must be lone done twenty per cent of a crop ishoo is too large a loss 1089 to be tolerated for any one operation A certain amount of the extra space is made up by the leets beets growing larger but only one fifth of the loss in stand was made up for by increased size of beets |