Yerington times. [volume] (Yerington, Nev.) 1907-1932, 1912-01-20
EXPERTS ADVICE ON
SUGAR BEET RAISING
Some Pointers by c. S. Knight,
Chief Agriculturist Fallon
Sugar Refinery

free from weeds. The ground is best
plowed in the fall at depth not less
than eight inches. If there is hard
| from four to six inches deeper to allow
the necessary penetration of the roots
| Plow in the direction of the slope
When plowed at right angles to the
slope the dead or back burrows prevent
uniform flow of water through the
! burrows, Do not pillow around the field.
Remove all dead burrows by back fur
rowing into them few times.
FLOWING OLD ALFALFA LAND-Old
! alfalfa land should be plowed IN the fall
about four inches deep. Keep the pillow
sharp, so that all roots will be cut below
the crown. Harrow thoroughly to bring
all roots to the surface, so they can be
raked off and disposed of. This ground
should be plowed again early in the
any leveling is needed it should be done
before this last blowing.
| If old alfalfa land is plowed deep in
the fall the crowns of the plants remain
alive in the ground and will start sprout-
| ing when the warm spring weather sets
i'll. This makes the cultivation difficult,
and the remaining alfalfa plants take the
plant food that should be used by the
beets. The planting should be rather
| late to prevent the alfalfa from choking
ont the tender young plants.
FLOWING GRAIN LAND-When beets
follow a grain crop the ground should
be plowed about four inches deep imme
diately after harvest, to prevent the sur
face from crusting and to give the weeds
start These weeds should be destroy
ed by deeper blowing later i'll the fall
When plowed deep at first the weed
seeds will not sprout until brought to
the surface when the soil is worked in
the spring. Then they terminate and
are hard to remove. When stable ma
nure is used 1t should be applied evenly
over the land after the shallow blowing
and turned under with the deeper plow-
ing. BY blowing narrow burrows the
ground breaks up more readily and alb
serbs more moisture than with wide
I burrows.
When beets follow potatoes or beets
/ the shallow blowing is unnecessary, but
the ground should receive the open
blowing.
pI I ,,,I &c
not plowed in the fall it should be plowed
as earyl in the spring as possible This
allows the ground to become firm
enough for rapid termination of the
seed, The weeds get an early start and
can be destroyed before planting. Also
more moisture is held in the soil in the
early spring, when the weather is cool,
than later when it becomes warmer.
With spring blowing no more ground
should be plowed in one day than can
be narrowed or dragged the same day.
In this condition the weeds will sprout
and can be destroyed before the seed is
planted
Ground plowed late in the spring
should be thoroughly pulverized to
depth of two or three inches and COM
pacted with roller to provide a firm,
moist soil and break up the clods. Fol-
low the roller with the harrow the same
day, if possible, setting the teeth at an
angle OF about IS degrees. This thor
ough preparation is necessary to prepare
fine seed bed, as the beet is a very
tender plant during its early growth.
LEvELING AND GRADING-Do not
plant beets Oh land that is not properly
leveled. A few acres properly leveled is
far better than many acres which have
been only partly leveled. Without
proper leveling and grading the water
cannot be applied uniformly, and some
plants will be killed by drowning or
scalding in the low places, while others
lack OF water.
Where considerable grading is neces-
sary great deal of the top layer of soil
is removed This top soil contains most
OF the organic matter, and the ground
should be MANFRED or put into some
other cultivated crop for one or two
years before being planted to sugar beets.
ONLY PRACTICAL METHoD-The fur
row method is the only practical way of
applying water to sugar beets i'll Nevada.
The water must not wet the soil around
the beet plants since the ground bakes
badly and greatly Injuries the growth of
the beet. This can be prevented only
with burrows on land properly leveled.
PREPARING FOR HEAD bitches "A
common method is to pillow out ditch
parallel to the field lateral which serves
the area. Cut the head ditch into sec