The Delta independent., 1910-03-04
Sugar Beets.

be busy in the many fields, and the new
crop, we hope, will give promise of a
bountiful harvest. Let US try this year
to make a special effort to grow a
record crop and have the fields looking
better than ever.
A few hints that may not be amiss at
this time. and also be of aid IN securing
larger crops:
Last year we found that the seed fur
nished by some factories contained a
large percentage of foreign matter,
especially small pieces of sticks from
the seed plants. These small sticks
have tendency to interfere with the
| flow of the seed, and ofttimes choke
the seed tubes in which case long
stretches of rows are either of a poor
stand or entirely devoid of plants. This,
of course, means a dead loss at the off
set and can easily be prevented by run
ming the seed through a tanning mill
To those who wish to use commercial
fertilizer and have fertilizer attach
ment on the beet drill should be careful
and determine beforehand just how
much fertilizer is fed. Teese attach
ments are not always accurate and often
the fertilizer is feed too heavy, as a
result the seed when terminating is apt
to find itself in position where there
was special heavy application of such
fertilizer. and it very often happens
that such plants succumb to the over
application.
If manure is used on the fields it
would be well to be careful as to what
kind is used or how it is applied. Very
often fresh manure is applied, that is
manure that carries with it a large
amount of straw. This straw often
interferes with the proper cultivation,
the straw when moist will lap over the
blade of the cultivator hoes and thereby
cause no end of trouble and result in
poor cultivation.
The application of the manure in
large chunks should also be avoided if
possible; if small plant should happen
to stand directly over large portion
Of manure and it should become rather
dry before water can be applied. such
plants will usually burn up before the
necessary moisture can be applied.
In answer to an inquiry if "beets"
can be grown on the same land for five
or six years in succession without ma
terially decreasing the field if manure
or other fertilizing elements are used?"
We wish to state that our experience
leads US to recommend rotation of
crops.
The above question has been ssked
many times, and in giving full an
swer We must go into details in advis-
ing against continuous cropping.
In order to grow a good crop it is
necessary that the soil should be in the
best ply sical condition: by this we
usually understand soil that is friable
containing enough manure so that it
can be easily worked and is capable of
holding large percentage of moisture
without any detriment to the crop.
Humus may be put into the soil by
means Of manure or the blowing under
of crop; in continuous cropping it
would naturally be by the means of
manure. AS beets are very often more
or less affected by insect pests this
application of manure year after year
will act as means, blanket as it
were, to further protect such insects;
in order to overcome this disagreeable
feature commercial fertilizer is our
next recourse, and this, as we know,
adds plant food without adding the
humus that Is so essential.
Pint diseases are also apt to be
developed where continuous cropping is
carried on, and this is one feature that
we should try to prevent; it is much
cheaper to rotate a crop than it is to
fight plant disease tnat once gets
established in the soil.
With many of the farmers it seems to
be question whether or not they
should plow under a stand of alfalfa
that is anywhere from five to twenty
years old. No beet grower can turn
nnder an old alfalfa field to better
advantage or put it to better profit
than to plant it to beets if he is so
located.
In planning rotation it is not neces-
sary to fit in the sugar beets in such
manner as to grow them only ,one year
on the same field. Two years in success
sion, under average conditions, is very
J good and it may be that rotation can