The productivity of soil and its properties are dependent upon its method of utilization. In the main region of sugar beet production in Yugoslavia, the productivity of the soil type chernozem has been observed to decrease under systems of monoculture and two-crop rotation which were studied for 10 years. If fertilizers were not applied, there was a drastic decrease in productivity. A lack of fertilizer application, coupled with a system of monoculture and two-crop rotation negatively affected the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil, whilst the use of farmyard manure had the opposite effect.