ARGE Rübenanbau

Short description

The project aims at developing measures for integrated plant protection in sugar beet growing. On the one hand a new warning service for beet pests is being developed, and on the other hand the greening of sugar beets as regards the regulation of pest populations as well as promoting the attractiveness for pollinators is being optimized. In this way a concrete basis for decisions is developed, by means of which the risk of production losses can be reduced and changed framework conditions can be addressed in a better way. This contributes to safeguarding domestic sugar beet farming on a long-term basis and to making it fit for the future.

Point of departure

The framework conditions for the cultivation of sugar beets in Austria, an important arable crop of social, regional, and strategic interest, have considerably changed in the course of the past few years. On the one hand changes in the global supply and demand conditions entail increasingly price risks and changing production requirements bring about new challenges in the cultivation. On the other hand, due to the changing climatic conditions pests, to which little attention has been paid so far, occur frequently, such as the beet weevil, the hop flea beetle, and in particular aphids. They confront farms with enormous problems. The knowledge about the pests relevant to farmers (such as population developments and spreading areas) is still fragmentary. Moreover, there exist no warning activities on beet pests in Austria at the moment. Besides, pest control in sugar beet farming is getting more and more difficult. as the use of insecticides is only possible to a limited extent. A possible approach is the targeted selection of catch crops, which are frequently integrated in beet farming and have a great influence on insect populations (pests, as well as beneficials and pollinators). However, also in this respect there is a lack of practical knowledge as regards optimal varieties, mixtures and cultivation in order to reduce the occurrence of pests to a minimum extent and to offer beneficials optimal conditions at the same time.

Project implementation and measures

Important project steps are:
1. Development of recording systems for flea beetle and aphid. Data transmission and quality assurance systems and their integration in existing warning services
2. Examination of the effects of seed treatment on the damage potential of beet pests
3. Development of a recording system for the beet weevil and integration in existing warning systems
4. Examination of greening strategies with respect to their influence on pest populations and biodiversity