The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, JULY 17, 1911. CULTIVATION OF SUGAR BEET.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 17 July 1911, Page 2

The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, JULY 17, 1911. CULTIVATION OF SUGAR BEET.

Interest in the question of cultivating .sugar-beet still abides in Xew Zealand, and it may he taken as sure that when Parliament settles down to work after this year's elections something definite may he done towards fostering the indus- , try in suitable localities. So far , as this country is concerned, a dei gree of doubt is maintained regarding the suitableness of our climate and situation for sugar-beet growing. Certainly we do have a dozen or so frosts in our hardest winters, and just as certainly the breezes blow in from the sea (six miles away); but it still has to be proved that we are too near the .sea to be abb to grow the beets .successfully, and as for frosts, the fact is indisputable that in fret nipped countries these saccharine bulbs hare been cultivated, and made profitab!?. ■It is a fact, too, that local interest in the matter is unabated, and it is a recognition of this :ittit l ! tl:.-t inclines us to give some details hi . e which w;' <• ill from a bulletin <:>f the X'evada Agricultural Experiment Station (a copy of which publication has been given to us by !\!r J. Drysdale, of the Government Experimental Station, "Wcrarna). Fro:ii ■this bulletin wo note that, till" subject of sugar-beet is rapidly gaining interest among the fanners -in the various sections of Nevada. The establishment of a factory at Fallon in Churchill county has led many farmers in that section of t,'i? State and in the neighbouring lo nlit: :>s to take up the culture of sugtr beets. During the first season the factory is nlanniiw? to luvvlh only about 50,000 tons ol bcr! which will produce about M .000.000 pounds of sugar at an exp?n<p of about three and one-fourth ccnts a pound. The lactory will [ay for been 4 dollars 50 cents per ton f r !■) per cent.. 80 cents a ton more f >r every per cent, above 15 pc, <•< u .. and 25 cents less prr ton I;'- eve v per cent, below 15 per cent.

Many informative paragraphs a e contained in the bulletin. it is interesting to note that the author (Mr Charles S. Knight), has observed that the sugar-be, t does remarkable well in high elevations from tire fact that it is injured very little by fumt and hailstorms unless they are too severe or too early. Profitable crops of sugar-beet aire, however, seldom produced above the elevation of 5,000 feet. Probably the best soil for .sugar-beet, he says, is a good deep clayey loam .with sufficient sand or silt to allow its being easily pulverized. This should be underlaid with .a pervious stratum, not coarse enough to allow rapid percolation. Rest results have been obtained in beet growing by plowing in the fall at a depth not less than eight inches. ff there is a hard subsoil the ground should be subsoiled from four to .six inches deeper to allow the necessary penetration of the roots. When the ordinary plough is used in preparing the beet land for the furrow method of irrigation, the ground should be ploughed in the direction of the slope. When ploughed at right angles to the slope the dead or back furrows prevent a uniform flow of water through the furrows. The ground should then be left with, out cultivation until, spring, since the action of the winter rain on the ploughed ground greatly increases the supply of available plant food. The -ground should be ploughed again in the spring and thoroughly pulverized to the depth of two or three inches with a firm, moist subsoil. The ground may be compacted by means of a roller or roller pulverizer, which also adds greatly in breaking up the clods. This thorough preparation is necessary to prepare a fine seed bed, as the beet is a very tender plant in the early stages of growth.- As soon as the ground is ploughed in the spring it should be harrowed or dragged. In this condition the weeds will sprout and may he destroyed in the later preparation of the seed bed. The water requirements of su,<r ftr . beet are great, and yet it ma/ be destroyed by the application of toomuch water, or by applying wateaat the wrong time (draw the growth of the plant. Li Nevada it is customary to irrigate beet crops, 'but with an equable rainfall such aq this coiurtay possesses there

■should be no need for any moistenings of the hoot fields. ,Tn general, boots require four or fivo months of growing weather for their successful production. It is the general practice to sow seed as soon as the conditions will permit, so that the plants can secure a good start bofore hot weather approaches, and mature before it comes too cold. This also gives the grower the opportunity of ireseodi.ng if the first crop becomes damaged or destroyed. The amount of seed to sow will vary with the locality, kind of soil, and vitality of seed, from ten to twentyfivo pounds per acre. On the light soils light seeding is gentieed, but on the clay loams and clay soils from eighteen to twenty-five pounds aim usually sown per acre. The average amount sown in the hoot sections of" Nevada is twenty pounds per acre. Light seeding has been recommended' by some on heavy soils, but experiments go to show that sowing less than twenty pounds per acre usually results in a, decreased yield. The depth of seeding varies from one to two inches with the character and condition of the soil. A good deal of labour is essential to proper cultivation of the beet, but as the average yield! in Nevada is from ten to twelve tons per acre (with seventeen tons per acre average amongst the more, export farmers) and exceptional yieldls up to 3fi tons per acre), the possible profit basis is wide. The largest single item of expense in the growing of the crop is the hand labonir necessary for hunching, hoeing, thinning and topping. The usual price paid where all these are f.neluded in one contract is twenty dollars per acre fCS 0s lOd). The Nevada specialist from whose work \i.-e quote estimates the net profit per acre from beet culture at forty dollars and one quarter (£8 fis !)■'<!). Tn Considering these figures, howover, it should' he borne in mind that approximately fifteen shillings per acre is set down for irrigation and canal maintenance charges.