DESCRIPTION OF THE GROWING OF SUGAR BEETS AND OF THE
MANUFACTURE OF BEET SUGAR
The sugar beet is one of the most important of the sugar-producing
plants. Although many plants store up starch in the seed which,
during the period of germination, is converted into sugars, only sugar
cane, sorghum, sugar beet, and sugar maple are commercially of im-
portance in sugar production. The term “sugar” technically includes
a number of carbohydrates having the general formula C. (H,0),.
Household sugar, sucrose, may be either cane or beet sugar, and 1s
designated by the formula (C,;H,0). The sugar beet, second in
importance to sugar cane in sugar. production, is one of the varieties
of Beta vulgaris which is grown for the beet root, the raw material
used in the production of beet sugar. The roots are medium in size
as compared with other root crops and are nearly always whitish in
color.
The sugar beet is one of the most intensively cultivated of the Ameri-
ran field crops, requiring much more than the average amount of
labor to the acre. On the sugar-beet farms in this country the crop
is usually one of several on the same farm. In the older agricultural
regions where beets are grown, it has an important place in the
rotation system. In the newer sections, however, less attention is
ziven to the rotation of crops and oftentimes beets are planted on
the same ground for a number of years. Though grown under a
wide variety of soil and climatic conditions, the crop thrives best
in regions where the soil is rich, the temperature moderate, and the
moisture adequate, either in the form of precipitation or irrigation.
Sugar beet seed is produced the second season, the root being grown
the first year and planted out the following spring for seed oo
The production of sugar-beet seed is adapted to European methods of
gg and practically all of the seed used in this country comes
fm the large beet-seed companies in Europe. Imports of sugar-
beet seed, mostly from Germany and Denmark, amounted, in 1926
to 10,790,000 pounds, with a value of over $1,000,000.
In so far as physical conditions are concerned, it is quite possible
to produce good sugar-beet seed in the United States. In fact,
during the World War, when it was impossible to obtain an adequate
supply of imported seed; a considerable amount was produced here,
but since the war most of it has again been imported.
A good seed bed is the first essential to a successful sugar-beet crop,
and consequently the farmers take great care in the preparation for
planting. The available manure is usually spread on the beet land,
which is then worked down to a fine, smooth seed bed by disking,
harrowing, leveling, dragging, and rolling. The farm practice in
sugar-beet culture on the farms studied is shown in Tables 58-63.
Detailed information is given there concerning the kinds of operations.
In Michigan and in the Rocky Mountain sections the beet seed is
planted in April and May, and in California in February and March.
The seed is drilled in rows 16 to 24 inches apart.
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