| Last spring Amalgamated Vice President Ralph
Burton said the very act of putting a seed in the ground is an expression
of hope, and as harvest time approaches that hope has developed into what
might be a bumper crop of sugar beets.
Leonard Kerbs, who is the ag manager of Almalgamated Sugar at the Twin
Falls plant, has been keeping track of heat units for several years, and
based on his records, he said not only will farmers harvest record
tonnage, but sugar content is probably going to be high, too.
The summer of 1993 -- which some refer to as "the summer that
never was" -- had the coolest temperatures on record and also
presented growers with the highest sugar content on record to that date.
"We believe overnight lows have a major impact in sugar
content," Kerbs said.
Then, last year sugar content exceeded all records, upwards of 19
percent in some fields -- between 16 and 17 percent is considered average.
Better than '93, last year was characterized by both hot days and cool
nights.
"You need good daytime growing temperatures, too," Kerbs
said.
On the other hand, 1998 had hot days and very warm nights during July,
August and September, which resulted in high tonnage but sugar content
less than 16.5 percent.
Kerbs said the reason for the phenomenon is that the sugar beets
capture sunlight during the day and make carbohydrates that converts to
sugar at night. During the night, all plants have biochemical reactions
giving off oxygen. Those reactions involve utilizing the carbohydrates (or
sugars). The warmer the night is, the faster the reactions will be, thus
less sugar will be stored than during cooler nights where reactions are
lower.
He said cooler nights also have an effect on microbes in soils and on
the soil chemistry -- or the changing of organic matter into nutrients.
"The one nutrient that has a profound effect on yield and sugar
content is nitrogen," he said. "Oversupply of nitrogen will
cause a crop to lower sugar content."
A cooler soil will have a slower rate in the nitrogen cycle, and so
cooler soil will cause less nitrogen to be made. It prevents sugar
production from adverse effects.
As Kerbs studies the number of cool nights and warm days, he sees a
pattern that leads him to believe this year will rival 1994 -- "a
benchmark year", in his words -- in terms of tonnage. And the weather
pattern also mimics last year's, so sugar content is bound to be high.
But Jim Wright, research soil scientist with the United States
Department of Agriculture at Kimberly, cautions that a 1976 University of
Idaho pamphlet explaining the concept of heat units said the number of
heat units that year on Aug. 29 was 2,512 as compared to 2,510 this year.
He does qualify those numbers.
He said in 1976, farmers did not plant nearly as early as they did in
2000, nor did they have the knowledge of fertilizing rates they do today.
He also points out that genetics have certainly improved yields since '76.
With early dig starting next week, farmers will be finding out if Kerbs
is on target.
"I hope I don't get blown out of the water, but I was predicting
high sugar content last year, and it was," he said, "so based
upon what is behind us this year -- except for the last five days -- this
should be a good one." |