Sugar Beet

1. Land Preparation Plough deep — 12 inches at least — and follow with a rotavator to a fine, level tilth. Sugar beet sends one long tap root straight down, and a plough pan splits it into a forked root the factory will discount. Make ridges 60 cm apart. 2.

Both Sowing Sep–Nov Harvest May–Jul 500–700 maund per acre

Land Preparation

Plough deep — 12 inches at least — and follow with a rotavator to a fine, level tilth. Sugar beet sends one long tap root straight down, and a plough pan splits it into a forked root the factory will discount. Make ridges 60 cm apart.

Sowing Time & Method

Sow September to November on the ridge side, 20 cm plant to plant. Peshawar valley sowing is best completed by mid-October; late sowing runs the root growth into the hot weather and sugar falls. Sow at 2–3 cm depth only — deeper and the seedling never emerges.

Seed Rate & Treatment

3–4 kg of monogerm seed per acre. Use only the variety your contracting sugar mill recommends — sugar beet is a contract crop and the mill decides delivery dates.

Fertilizer

Per acre: 2 bags DAP and 1.5 bags SOP at sowing, 3 bags urea split at thinning and again a month later. Potash matters more here than in most crops — it is what puts the sugar in the root. Boron deficiency causes heart rot, a black rotten crown on an otherwise sound beet; a boron spray at the 8-leaf stage prevents it.

Irrigation

First irrigation light, right after sowing. Then every 15–20 days through winter. STOP irrigation 3–4 weeks before lifting — a beet watered close to harvest grows watery, the sugar percentage drops and the mill pays on sugar, not weight.

Weed Control

Weed Damage Control Product
Bathu (Lambsquarters) It is of the beet's own family and grows faster in the first six weeks, and a weedy start costs the root both its size and its sugar. Hoe at thinning and again three weeks after
Canary Grass (Dumbi Sitti) Comes up with the first irrigation and crowds the seedlings before thinning, when the beet cannot fight back at all. Hoe at thinning and again three weeks after
Wild Oat (Jangli Jai) Tillers out and takes nitrogen and moisture right through the winter, so the roots stay thin and weigh light. Hoe at thinning; pull the escapes by hand before they seed
Sweet Clover (Senji) Comes up with the beet and soon stands over it, and a seedling kept in the shade through those first six weeks never grows out of it. Hoe at thinning and again three weeks after; pull by hand any that get above the crop later
Field Bindweed (Lehli) Twines through the canopy and binds the roots, so the beet breaks at lifting and part of the root stays in the ground. Hand pull from the rows; dig out the deep roots after the crop is lifted

Sugar beet is a very weak early competitor and the crop is most often lost in the first six weeks, not later. Two hoeings, at thinning and three weeks after, are essential.

Insect Pests

Aphid transmits virus yellows and is the pest that matters most. Cutworm takes seedlings at night in patches. Leaf miner tunnels inside the leaf in spring; damage looks alarming but rarely costs yield unless it is severe.

Diseases

Cercospora leaf spot is the main disease — small round spots with a pale centre and dark ring, worst in warm humid weather from March. Damping off kills seedlings in cold wet soil. Root rot follows waterlogging in heavy land.

Crop Care

Thin to a single plant every 20 cm when the seedlings have 4 true leaves. Thinning late or not at all is the commonest reason for a field of small forked roots.

Harvesting

Lift May to July on the mill's schedule. Top the beet just below the lowest leaf scar — leaving crown on it lowers the sugar test, and cutting too low throws away root you were paid for. Deliver the same day; a beet left in the sun for two days loses sugar you cannot get back.