Professor 'Yickson 
 
 DCPT 
 
J 
 
 THE IMPORTANCE OF COMPARATIVE FIELD 
 
 TESTS WITH SUGAR BEET SEEDS AND 
 
 HOW TO CONDUCT THEM 
 
 BY 
 
 EDMUN 
 
 D\ZALESKI, Engineer 
 - 
 
 and Director 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Sugar Beet Seed 
 Breeding Station 
 
 OF 
 
 BUSZCZYNSKI & LAZYNSKI 
 
 Niemiercze, Podolia, Russia. 
 
 Part I. Field Tests 
 
 Edited and Translated by 
 W. K. WINTERHALTER 
 
 Consulting Agriculturist Sc American Representative 
 
 Wright & Callender Building 
 LOS ANGELES, CAL. 
 
2 ^ 
 
 Directions for Tests 
 
 With Different Varieties of Sugar Beet Seed 
 by the Standard Method. 
 
 Comparative tests with sugar beet seed should be carried 
 on by every factory for the purpose of establishing the merits 
 of each variety and in order to ascertain from actual returns, 
 which type is the most remunerative to the farmer and which 
 to the factory. 
 
 It is a well-known fact that the sugar beet is very sensitive 
 to all agencies influencing the growth of plants, such as at- 
 mospheric conditions, character of soil, cultivation and others, 
 and quite frequently a barely noticeable deviation of one or the 
 other produces a material difference in yield or sugar content 
 of a certain variety. Therefore, in order to properly judge the 
 relative value of various sugar beet types, it is essential that 
 they be grown and tested under as nearly uniform conditions 
 as possible. 
 
 Equally as important as uniformity of soil, climatic and 
 other external conditions, are tiie following points, in connec- 
 tion with the standard test method : 
 
 1st : The planting, cultivation and general care of the test 
 field should be handled as nearly alike, as this work is per- 
 formed in the field of the average beet grower. 
 
 2nd: The test field should be as uniform as possible in 
 character of soil and subsoil, also as regards the preceding 
 crop, fertilization and preparation of the ground. Land which 
 has been previously used for experimental work, garden, dump- 
 ing ground for rubbish, etc., is not fit for these test plots. The 
 field selected for the standard test should be most carefully 
 prepared. 
 
 All preparatory work, especially the deep plowing, should 
 be performed under a right angle to the beet rows. The plow- 
 ing should be done by one man with one and the same plow. 
 
? the operation of lifting. This applies especially to the center 
 rows which are used for analysis and the tonnage test. 
 
 Much can be gained by employing throughout the season 
 the same laborers for all the work in connection with these test 
 plots, providing this is at all feasible. I doubt, however, that 
 many will be in such a fortunate situation, especially out West. 
 
 9th : The test fields must be frequently inspected and any 
 irregularities or differences in germination, uniformity of com- 
 ing up, growing energy, vitality, appearance of and damage by 
 parasites and diseases, disease resistance and other features 
 that may present themselves to the student and close observer, 
 must be carefully and immediately recorded. 
 
 10th : The sugar content and yield of a variety are greatly 
 dependent on the number of plants per square unit and the dis- 
 tance between beets. The same variety will show marked dif- 
 ferences in both, though 'growing under as nearly identical soil, 
 climatic and other conditions, as possible, when there are only 
 28,000 or 39,000 beets growing on an acre. A similar difference 
 will be observed in case of the same number of beets to the 
 square unit, but when they are unevenly distributed, i. e., a 
 great deal depends whether the plants grow uniformly all over 
 the surface of a field or whether there are places of a dense 
 stand and then again bare spots. It is therefore recommended 
 that for the determination of sugar and tonnage only such beets 
 be used, which have matured in a row or in sections of rows of 
 uniform stand. Wherever this condition exists the theoretical 
 yield of a variety is ascertained by multiplying the average 
 weight of the beets, harvested from such spots with normal 
 stands, with the calculated number of beets per acre. This 
 method is justified and generally accepted, since the number of 
 beets per acre is mostly dependent on the soil and growing con- 
 ditions, and not on the character of the beet type. Marked dif- 
 ferences in germination power and vitality from the outset are 
 always recorded during the first growth of the crop. When- 
 ever great differences occur in the stand of a test field, it is ad- 
 visable to remove the beets from the uneven spots the day be- 
 fore the beets are lifted for the test, leaving in the plots only 
 those beets which matured in rows of a uniform stand. By pro- 
 ceeding in this manner errors resulting through the addition 
 
of beets which grew under abnormal conditions, can be fully 
 eliminated. 
 
 Should through some cause or another the entire test field 
 show a very uneven and faulty stand, the selection of the test 
 beets must be left to the judgment of the investigator, and a 
 careful count of the beets in each test plot is necessary so that 
 the records show the prevailing conditions most accurately, fur- 
 nishing at the same time an explanation for the results of the 
 sugar and tonnage tests of these plots. The results from test 
 fields which have a uniformly thin stand, but no bare spots of 
 any consequence, while not of as great value as of a uniformly 
 good stand, can still be used for a fairly accurate calculation 
 of the yield of a variety. In this case the average between the 
 theoretical number of beets p<er acre and the actually counted 
 number of beets per acre, is ascertained, and this figure is then 
 multiplied with the average weight of the test beets. The re- 
 sults obtained from such irregular test fields are not conclusive 
 on the merits of a variety and can only be used for comparison 
 with others grown under the same conditions on the same field. 
 
 llth : The larger the number of beets which are used for 
 the sugar determination, the more accurate are the results ob- 
 tained. The usual equipment and arrangement of a factory 
 laboratory, however, limits the number of beets to be tested, 
 and careful investigation has proven, that it is not necessary to 
 use all the beets from each test plot for analysis. 
 
 The general custom for the selection of beets for laboratory 
 use is the following: After removing all beets grown in open 
 spaces and in outside rows, and others not standing in continu- 
 ous rows, the number of the remaining beets in each plot is as- 
 certained, and accordingly, every fourth, sixth or tenth beet 
 may be selected for the laboratory test. Just what percentage 
 of the normally grown beets should be selected cannot be pre- 
 scribed, as this depends entirely on the stand in the test plots; 
 all that is required is a sufficiently larsre number for the pur- 
 pose of obtaining the most accurate results. Some beets will al- 
 ways have to be discarded after they have been pulled, on ac- 
 count of broken roots, injuries by insects or disease, or for other 
 causes which cannot be detected until the beets have been lifted. 
 It is better to have too many beets than not enough. 
 
12th : The most advisable method for the sugar determina- 
 tion is the "Hot Water Digestion," and for the sake of uni- 
 formity and comparison of results from the different sections of 
 the United States, this method, and no other should be used in 
 the analytical work. The pulp should be as fine and uniform 
 as possible, and the use of boring machines is not recommended, 
 as too small a section is removed from each beet, and also be- 
 cause the sugar content of such a small section is not a fair 
 representative of the sugar content of the entire beet. 
 
 13th : Several hundred beets produce a considerable quan- 
 tity of pulp. As it is impossible, for the average factory labora- 
 tory, to digest the entire amount, only a sample thereof will be 
 analyzed, and the selection of this sample is a feature of great 
 moment. The following method for securing this sample is 
 recommended : Divide the entire quantity in two parts 1 A and 
 B ; mix each thoroughly and then divide each again into Al, 
 A2 and Bl and B2. Then mix thoroughly Al with Bl and A2 
 with B2, then re-divide (Al and Bl) and (A2 and B2) and re- 
 peat this manipulation 10 to 15 times for about 15 minutes. 
 Finally about 5 to 7 samples are taken from this mixture and 
 the sugar in each one is determined. Since every seed variety 
 is from 3 to 5 times represented in a test field, from 15 to 30 
 individual determinations of sugar are thus obtained of each 
 by this method. 
 
 14th : As errors in the reading of the polariscope are very 
 common, and occur even with the b'est chemists, the use of 4 
 to 5 samples is far superior to the use of one, though the latter 
 may represent 4 times the weight of any single one. The more 
 readings the smaller the margin of errors. 
 
 In order to be able to form reliable conclusions of the re- 
 sults of these tests the greatest accuracy in connection with 
 every branch of the work in the field as well as in the laboratory 
 is of prime importance ; without it, more harm than good might 
 come from them. 
 
 A supplementary edition treating the work in the labora- 
 tory in detail, and the method of calculating and determining 
 the results of the seed tests will be issued later in the season. 
 
 Los Angeles, California, February, 1911. 
 
be tested, the use of a " standard type" is absolutely necessary; 
 in case of only a few varieties (4 to 6), the standard type may 
 be omitted, and instead the test rows of the others should be 
 repeated once or twice more making 4 or 5 series of plantings, 
 instead of only 3. 
 
 6th: The size of the test fields greatly depends upon the 
 degree of accuracy of results which are expected from the tests. 
 For an accurate determination of the sugar content an area of 
 approximately 120 to 150 square yards is sufficient. For the 
 yield test, at least three times that area is necessary, viz: ap- 
 proximately 450 square yards. When planning the size of the 
 test field due consideration must be given to the labor at your 
 command, as all the work in connection with the test field 
 throughout the season should always, if at all possible, be per- 
 formed in one day. 
 
 7th: As to the shape of the test field, same is dependent 
 on soil conditions and slope; generally speaking an oblong 
 parallelogram is most desirable, as it brings the different vari- 
 eties in close proximity, thus making their growing conditions 
 as nearly alike as possible. Each test plot, if one may thus 
 designate each seeding of a variety, must consist of not less 
 than three rows, and better five, the latter number increasing 
 the accuracy of the results. For the determination of the sugar 
 and yield of each variety only the one center row is used, in 
 case of three row plots, and the three center rows are used in 
 case of 5 row plots. The advantage of 5 row plots needs no 
 further comment. 
 
 8th: The seeding and all other cultural labor should be 
 performed in the same manner as is practiced in the open field, 
 but the utmost care should be exercised to do all the work well 
 and accurately. Where the seeding is done by hand instead of 
 a Planet Junior hand seeder, uniform dropping of the kernels 
 is absolutely necessary, and just as important is a most accurate 
 spacing and thinning at a uniform distance throughout the test 
 field. All varieties must be thinned at the same distance, and 
 the width between rows must be likewise the same throughout 
 the field. At the time of harvesting all beets must be uniformly 
 topped and cleaned and the roots must not be broken off by 
 

 Manure should be used from one stable only, so that it is 
 the product of the same animals for a prolonged period. Never 
 take horse manure from livery stables, or mix sheep and cattle 
 manure. If possible, use the same pile of manure for the test 
 field and see that it is most carefully and evenly distributed 
 over the land in a uniform layer. Spread the manure always 
 under a right angle to the direction in which you intend to 
 plant your beet rows; it must be spread immediately and not 
 allowed to lie in piles, for even a day, in the field; it must be 
 plowed under as fast as it can be scattered. 
 
 3rd: In spite of the most careful selection and prepara- 
 tion of the test field, there may be spots which at the first 
 glance plainly show that they differ in character from the gen- 
 eral make-up of the field. Such places should not be included in 
 the test at the time of harvesting. The beet rows should run 
 in right angles to the plow furrow and the other preparatory 
 operations, and parallel with the slope of the land. In case 
 the character of the soil or its depth change in a given direc- 
 tion, the beets should be planted in the same direction. 
 
 4th: Even the most careful examination of the field and 
 the greatest care in its selection do not always guarantee that 
 conditions are absolutely uniform or will continue so during 
 the growing season. Heavy rains, accidents during the irriga- 
 tion, parasitic destruction and other agencies may cause great 
 variations in the final results. 
 
 In order to eliminate the effects of such unavoidable occur- 
 rences as much as possible, and thus reduce to the lowest mar- 
 gin the errors resulting therefrom, each test must be repeated 
 several times ; and the more varieties are in the test the of tener 
 the rows should be repeated. There should never be less than 
 three series of each planting; one series of test rows is of no 
 value, two of very little. 
 
 In order to obtain the most accurate results and data 
 which can be directly compared, the use of one seed variety, 
 as a ''standard" is highly recommended. This standard vari- 
 ety is always seeded alongside every other Variety included in 
 the test, and the returns of the latter are then directly com- 
 pared with the returns of the two "standard" varieties grow- 
 ing on either side. When a large number of varieties are to 
 
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