AbstractThe effects of different soil tillage systems, crop rotations and short time cover crops on soil losses and runoffSoil and water losses were carried out from 1979 to 1986 on a pseudogley‐parabrownearth of the farm Ihinger Hof throughout the growth period of green maize and sugar‐beet, both planted by plough and rotary hoe. From 1983 to 1986 the effect of short time soil cover crops (October—Dezember) were also studied.The soil losses under rotary hoe were significantly lower in comparison to plough, but the differences in runoff between the tillage treatments were not significant. Under sugar‐beet the erosion caused by rainfall was less than under maize. From the short time soil cover crops, the legume mixtures were found to have the best influence on soil and water conservation, and on the maize growth as well. There was no relationship between runoff or rainfall amount and soil losses. The soil losses correlated strongly to EI30‐indices, and this means that the USLE equation of Wischmeierand Smith(1965) can be applied in our experimental Farm in Ih