Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1907-05-15
SUGAR BEET EXPERIME.
SOILS AND FERTILIZERS FOR DIFF
FERENT SECTIONS.
Vernon and Other Counties Develop
Rich Fields and Paying Crops
OF Sugar Beets.


at Madison will soon issue bulletin on
raising sugar beets from whicn the
following extracts are taken. Ten
farms in four counties of the state were
selected, and upon these the expert
ments were conducted namely, on four
farms near Lancaster, two near Viro-
qua, on three near Chippewa Falls,
and on the hill farm of the university
experiment station.
A secondary consideration in the Sc
lection of farms for experiment was
the fact that they We're representative
of the districts tributary to the four
sugar beet factories of the state at
Madison, Janesville, Menomonee Falls
and Chippewa Falls. Each of these has
capacity of nearly 1000 tons day,
and in addition there is beet sugar
/ factory at Menominee, Mich, that
draws three-fourths of its beet from
this state.
The expense of growing a heavy
crop of sugar beets is little greater
| than that of growing a small crop,
though the gross returns on a large
crop may be two or three times that Of
a small one, and the net returns of the
field proportionately increased. In
! vestigations that make possible such
doubling and trebling of land produc-
| tion are therefore of inestimable value
to the farmers and to the state as
whole.
A one-acre field of sugar beets was
grown on each of the ten farms under
different systems of fertilization, and
representative rows. of beets on each
| plot were harvested in the fall, weigh
ed, sampled and the beets analysed for
their sugar contents. Each acre was
divided into seven equal plots, five of
which were treated with different sys-
TENS of fertilization. The two border
plots were left without fertilizer, to
show what could be accomplished on
the natural soil, so that a comparison
might be made between that and the
standard gained on the other plots On
one strip of the land potassium sui
phate was used at the rate of 1870
pounds to the acre. On another the
fertilizer was per cent acid phosphate
at the rate of 420 to the acre.
A third plot was treated with COM
bination of potassium sulphate and
acid phosphate, the amount varying on
the different farms. On another plot
combination was used with the addi-
tion of sodium nitrate, 800 pounds to
the acre. The remaining strip was fer
tilted with farmyard manure, ter
loads of one ton each to the acre. In
this last plot the fertilizer ingredients
were approximately the same as in the
plot containing the sod um nitrate.
| In addition to this treatment of the
land one-third of each plog was given
an application of Stacked linse, one-half
ton per acre for the purpose Of dis
covering the effect of iime IN she
various soils. The amount of lime was
doubled on FIVE of the plots by way ,,f
! further experiment.
In the majority of cases it was found
that the plots containing the nitrate
| fertilizer produced the largest increase
in yield and in sugar content in the
beets. five plots giving an increase of
| from 6, 600 to II 900 pounds yield to the
acre. In three cases the farmyard
manure gave even better results, the
increase in yield am~ -..lting to 10, 1872
pounds on a Chippewa Falls farm to
/ 1908 pounds on the farm near Lam
caster, and to 13,477 pounds on the
neighboring Block farm. Of the two
remaining Vernon county farms, one
gained an increase of 6,178 pounds on
| the potassium sulphatc plot and the
other 7,243 pounds on the plot which
had been treated with acid phosphate
! The improvement in the amount of
sugar content in the beets is as marked
as the increase in yield On the Block
| farm the fertiliZed plots showed 7l8 to
| 75l pounds sugar content, while the
| plot on which the nitrate fertilizer was
used showed l,942. On the Abrams
| farTU in the same county, the increase
was / 1906 pounds sugar content. The
asylum farm in Vernon county was the
| only one on which the increase did not
| rise to the 2000 mark.
! The effect of lime on the quality and
yield of beets and sugar is shown in a
| table in the bulletin, where the result
| ing percentages of the beets grown on
| the lined third of each farm are com
pared with the percentage obtained on
the rest of the land. On the Madison
| farm it was noticed that the yield Of
beets and sugar on the lined portion
was somewhat lower than that on the
other plots. On the Lancaster soils the
| beets responded to lime only in the case
of the Wright field and the part of the
| Block farm which was treated with
! farmyard manure. Where no farm
manure was applied, the lime proved
detrimental, there being nearly two
tons less of beets and 459 pounds less
of sugar than on the unlimed portion.
| Where the manure was applied, how
ever, the lime increased the yield at the
| rate of over ton and the sugar con-
| tent by 3S4 pounds.