1996 survey of sugar beet production techniques

1994 is becoming an increasingly valuable data base for advisory services. The results provide better evidence of regional peculiarities as well as of general trends. Data on weed and disease incidence reveal annual effects which perhaps can be used to devise future treatment strategies. Aside from a few exceptions, no major changes in production techniques were recorded in the period 1994 to 1996. However, the results indicate that farmers increasingly use cost-effective and environment- friendly methods in sugar beet production. There is a growing regional differentiation in soil preparation practices. The application of soil and aphid insecticides has declined thanks to improved protectice seed treatment. Labour-intensive operations, such as machine hoeing, are likewise on the decrease. Cooperation between farms and the deployment of wage labour have clearly increased.