Effects of Strip Tillage and Irrigation Rate on Sugar Beet Crop Yield and Incidence of Insect Pests, Weeds, and Plant Pathogens

Despite the many agronomic benefits of conservation tillage, little is known regarding the effects of reduced tillage on the pest complex in sugar beet. We examined the effects of two types of tillage (strip till versus conventional) and different irrigation rates on yield as well as densities of insect pests, weeds, and a soil-borne plant pathogen in sugar beet. Yields were similar between tillage treatments for two of the three years, but were greater for conventional tillage during one year in which a wet spring may have slowed seedling development in strip-tilled plots. The low irrigation treatment exhibited lower yields in one of three years, regardless of tillage treatment. Eggs of beet leafminer flies were more abundant in conventional tillage on three of eight observation dates, but larval densities did not differ by tillage treatment. Bean aphid incidences generally were positively related to irrigation rate. Total weed counts within beet rows did not