A series of investigations were conducted in 1991, 1992, and between 1996 and 1998 to determine the yield, internal quality, and sugar losses during storage by different methods of topping sugarbeet. These included conventional topping with incomplete scalping (general practice) and hand scalping (laboratory and tare house practice), and topping with rubber flails by beating off the leaves and petioles, with light scalping and non-scalping. Flail topping without scalping resulted in a 4.6% higher root yield, 0.13% units lower sugar content, and 3.8% higher sugar yield compared with conventional topping with hand scalping (laboratory and tare house practice), and 1.8% higher root yield and 1.9% higher sugar yield compared with conventional topping with incomplete scalping (general practice). These differences were statistically significant. The lowest contents of potassium, sodium and amino-N (K, Na, α-N) and invert sugar were detected by conventional topping with hand scalping, whereas conventional topping with incomplete scalping and flail topping without scalping had the highest contents. During a storage period of approximately 5 weeks, the respiration rate of flail-topped beets and of non-scalped beets was slightly higher than conventional topped beets and scalped beets. The contents of potassium, sodium and amino-N on the whole did not change during the storage period. The invert sugar content on the other hand increased considerably. The increase being significantly higher in the flail topped treatments than in the conventional.