1-3/7/2014, The Westin Bellevue, Dresden (D)

The 74^th IIRB Congress took place 1^st to 3^rd July 2014 at the Hotel Westin Bellevue Dresden in Germany.

Programme

1^st July

In the Congress' opening session, the German sugar beet research sector waspresented. The following session ‘Networking – science in action’ highlighted the close cooperation of the Göttingen Institute of Sugar Beet Research (IfZ) with institutes, funding bodies, ministries, industry, practice, and other related groups. The resulting network facilitates the generation and implementation of scientific findings for the sustain­able development of sugar beet cultivation. 

In the afternoon, participants visited the Julius Kühn-Institute, Institute for Breeding Research on Horticultural and Fruit Crops at Pillnitz. After touring the greenhouse and trial facilities, they were invited to a reception at Pillnitz Castle. A steamboat took all participants back to Dresden on the river Elbe.

2^nd July

For the technical sessions on 2^nd and 3^rd July, we put together an interesting pro­gramme with two mini-seminars on topics ‘Breeding and soil-borne diseases’ and ’Control of weeds and leaf diseases’, and a large open session. The presentations were completed by poster sessions on both days with more than 80 posters.

The afternoon of 2^nd July was dedicated to a farm visit on an agro-cooperative close to Dresden. The visit highlighted the differing socio-economic farm situations in the former German Democratic Republic before 1990 and the technical manage­ment of a competitive farm today.

3^rd July

The congress ended in the early afternoon of 3^rd July with three closing presentations that outlined the future needs in sugar beet cultivation, the impact of science, and the social acceptance of agriculture.

Please find further information in the download programmes.