The Somerset reporter., 1898-06-02
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SUGAR BEETS.
Their Profitable Culture-Chemical Fer
tilizers and short Rotation.

Their Profitable Culture-Chemical Fer
tilizers and Short Rotation.
The following practical points In re-
gard to the profitable culture of the
sugar beet are presented by CORE
sIandent in The Country Gentleman
The end of the campaign for 1897 at
the Norfolk (Neb. beet sugar plant
gives an average yield in sugar of near
" 1870 pounds per ton of beets. II an
average price of 81 per ton is paid the
farmer, there can be but little profit
left for the sugar company. Under fair
" average conditions sugar cane Will
produce twice the yield per ton. Sugar
beets, however. will make much bet
ter showing than this if properly grown
The mistake most farmers make is in
growing heavy crop at the expense OF
the sugar content. 1t is doubtful if more
than Is tons per acre can be grown with
safety unless the quickly available
chemical manures are used very llber-
ally, and, what is of fully equal impor-
tance used very intelligently.
By working plenty of barnyard ma
nure into the soil heavy crop may be
made but the sugar content will be
low The mineral fertilizers of barn
yard manure are slow acting as compar-
ed with It's ammonia. To get an idea Of
how much Importance the mineral fer
tilizers are to sugar beets it is only nee
essary to compare the chemical analysis
with the same figures for staple crop
such as corn. In the corn plant for ev-
cry 100 pounds of nitrogen taken up by
the crop there must also be taken up
2l5 pounds of phosphorio acid and 900
pounds of potash; for the sugar beet
crop each 100 pounds of nitrogen must
have to 60 with them 215 pounds OF
phosphoric acid and 445 pounds of pot
ash 1t is plainly evident, therefore,
that manure which gives very good
results on corn will not answer for sug-
ar beets. Furthermore, the corn plant
has wide reaching root system and can
forage for plant food, while the sugar
beet root system is confined to narrow
limits, and the soil must be fed far more
literally.
1t is now generally understood that
sugar beets should follow a cultivated
crop-that is, the ground should have
been worked thoroughly the previous
year, not only in order that the weeds
may be we'll subdued, but also that the
soil may be in fine open condition.
Corn is the ideal crop to precede sugar
beets, as it answers all the require
ments. A clover sod will answer, but 1t
must be plowed late in the fall and
thoroughly cross plowed in the spring.
A short rotation should be used, as
sugar beet farmer is something of
specialist and should keep his soil in his
speciality as much as possible. fair
rotation would be corn with crimson
clover or other suitable legume broad
casted in August and the clover crop
plowed under as late in the fall as pos
sible. Cross plow the next year as early
as possible and plant beets, to be fol-
lowed the next year by corn--in fact, a
two year rotation.
By this rotation all the farmyard
manure should be used on the corn,
with an application of about 400 pounds
OF kalnit or 100 pounds OF murlate or
potash in July for the egume. On the
sugar beets only chemical fertilizers
should be used, and the applications
per acre should be not less than /, 900
pounds of fertilizer of the following
analysis: Ammonia, per cent potash,
8 per cent; phosphorio acid, available,
6 per cent. The potash used should be
in the form of sulphate unless it is APP
piled the previous fall when kainit OF
muriate may be used with perfect
safety.
If the soil is in very good condition,
even heavier applications may be used
proftably, but the soil must be III o
very fertile condition. 1t is well tried
maxim that the more fertilizer you use
the more you can proftably use. A soil
which produces but ten tons of fair sug-
ar beets per acre may in few years he
made to produce 10 tons and of "a much
higher quality. 1t is all a matter of sys-
tematio fertilization,