Autumn strip tillage for sugar beet in Germany

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of strip tillage in autumn on field emergence and yield of sugar beet crops in typical growing areas in Germany. Standard tillage practices which had proved to be optimal for the respective sites served as reference. Therefore, trials were carried out as on-farm experiments (strip design) at a total of 35 sites in the years 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15. On average, field emergence for strip tillage was 7.0 % lower than for standard tillage practices. Plant population did not correlate with white sugar yield, presumably because differences in plant density between tillage treatments were low or in the range of the optimal plant density of 82,000-110,000 plants ha(-1). In the mean of all trials, white sugar yield was 6.3 % lower for strip tillage compared to standard tillage. Lower yields for strip tillage occurred more frequently on heavier soils and were probably caused by delayed youth development.