The Lamar register., 1910-11-09
TO IRRICATE BETS
Proper Application and Amount
of Water Great Factor.
Determines Amount Of Sugar Produced
Per Acre and Size of crop-Flood-
Ing 10 Most Popular but
Requires Most Water.

In regions with insufficient rainfall
the proper application and amount of
water is the one factor that determines
the size of the crop and the amount of
sugar produced per acre. Different
sections have worked out the problem
for their own particular requirements
In general three methods are in
vogue. Flooding in some one Of the
different ways is the most popular
Furrowing by means of small trenches
between the beets, is also a favorite
method for summer irrigation. But
this way is usually confined to regions
which have such hot weather in the
summer that 1t would raise the temper
AZURE of large bodies of water to a
point dangerously close to scalding.
Ditching, the third method. is depart
ure from the furrowing, writes r. S.
Adams, in orange Judd Farmer. 1t
consists in putting In bitches eight to
forty feet apart.
In deciding on the method to use.
a grower is confronted with several
problems. First of all. is the amount
of water he has at his disposal. Flood
ing requires the most, while ditching
and furrowing require about the same.
Flooding requires the most water and
good head. The head must be fair
ly level and with no abrupt changes OF
level. On the other hand, the land
can be prepared the quickest and
cheapest, and once prepared will last
for several years. The method re-
quires less labor in handling the wa
ter and more territory can be covered
in "a hours. One. or at most. two
summer applications will suffice.
Ditching is more of a special meth
cd. Its disadvantages are the waste
OF land where the beets are removed
for the bitches. the labor in prepar-
ing them and the need OF frequent ap-
plications, as the recurrence of irriga-
ton is similar on soil which takes up
water readily. as sandy soils or light
loans. or on land having a subsoil
into which water penetrates slowly. 1t
is more of a special method. but where
1t can be used a comparatively large
head Of water can be handled, as well
as a small one. much land can be
gone over in a day, and but little. II
any. more help is required than In
flooding.
For more work In sections where
hand labor is high. and where the
weather conditions are not excessive.
flooding will prove the best method to
employ. utilizing the latest scheme of
sloping or blanket checks. This form
OF flooding is gaining in popularity.
The checks are run with the gentle
slope OF the land. The levees are
placed so feet apart sideways. and
from $50 to 400 feet long. Two or
three checks are contiguous end to
end. The water is let into the top
check, and when this Is full tho levee
at the lower end is cut and the sue
ceeding check filled. and so on until
the next ditch is reached. The checks
require only small levees. few bitches
and one man can irrigate a compare
lively large amount of land a day. de-
pending, OF course. on the head of
water.
The secret OF irrigation in sugar
beets is to give water enough SO that
they will have plenty Of moisture dur
ing the growing period. gradually de-
creasing the amount as the time of
maturity approaches.
The character of the soil to large
extent determines the amount OF wa
ter needed and the time of applica-
lions. Heavy adobss will often carry
a crop through with single winter ir-
rigation. because of the relative slow
evaporation. Heavy clay loans will
often carry the crop through with the
winter irrigation. As to the time Of
application. the limits are much more
closely defined Tor sandy soils. and
usually a summer. and sometimes two
applications will be needed to carry
the crop to fullest maturity. In all
cases the character Of the subsoil is
an important factor. Open subsoils
require that the land be irrigated
oftener and with more water; imper-
vious subsoils necessitate care in ap-
plying water to avoid logging the land.
thus driving out the air with a conse-
uuent loss of beets.