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Evalution of energy for bioethanol production
77-80Views:135The objective of this study was the ethanol which classified as agro fuels. The aim of our research was the calculation of efficiency of bioethanol production, and evaluates the yield of maize hybrids grown for this purpose. We examined the energy demand of corn production per hectare in two vintages of 2009 and 2010. The focus of the experiment was placed in three different doze of fertilizer. Results show that the control corn plot used the least amount of non-renewable energy. Improving starch yield by adding fertilizer required additional nonrenewable energy inputs. So then the invested energy has a great impact on the efficiency.
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Evaluating economic value properties of different beetroot varieties
137-142Views:158The root vegetables have a pivotal role in the vegetable consumption and to form a healthy diet. The consumption of natural juices, like apple-beetroot are becoming more popular and the drying-, the pharmaceutical- and canning industry require more beetroot to process. For the processing, the industry requires easily peeled and round shaped roots, therefore to use the proper variety is very important. The primary quality parameters are the inner color intensity, uniform color and water soluble dry matter content.
4 beetroot varieties were evaluated (Libero, Rubin, Detroit 2 and Cylindra) in the 3 years experiment which was carried out at the University of Debrecen, Institutes for Agricultural Research and Educational Farm, Botanical and Exhibiton Garden. The soil type was calcareous chernozem. Leaf length, shape index and water soluble solid content were measured, and sensory evaluation was carried out on taste, inner color intensity and white ring.
To summarize, we can state the exception of Rubin genotype all of the varieties are suitable for second cultivation and good for processing (canned, juice, powder). -
Studies of Expression of Peptaibol Synthetase of Trichoderma reesei
188-190Views:144Because of the potential importance of peptaibols in the biological control of plant diseases, a transgenic, a T. reesei strain carrying a tex1-promoter: goxA fusion plasmid was constructed for furthur studies. The peptaibol synthetase gene (which is highly similar to T. virens tex1) was identified in the genome sequence of T. reesei. A 900 bp 5’ upstream noncoding fragment, presumed to include the promoter region of tex1, was cloned into the pSJ3 plasmid (which contains the Aspergillus niger goxA gene encoding glucose oxidase). Finally, we transformed T. reesei with the tex1-promoter: goxA fusion containing pSJ3 plasmid.
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Horn and coat color varieties of the Hungarian grey cattle
44-48Views:123Due to the intensification of agricultural production, genetic diversity has been reduced to a large extent. Presently, in the period of worldwide genetic conservation, we try to preserve as much of the gene pool of our valuable indigenous domestic animal breeds as we can. Therefore, traits that have no economic value at the moment should also be conserved. The different horn and coat colour varieties of Hungarian Grey Cattle are such valuable traits. Research has been done on the largest Hungarian Grey Cattle stock, at the Hortobágy Kht. Rates of the different horn and coat colour varieties were determined and relationships were analyzed between the above mentioned qualitative traits
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Growth and clorophyll content dynamics of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in different cropyear
101-105Views:138The experiments were carried out at the Látókép experimental station of the University of Debrecen on chernozem soil in a long term winter wheat experiment in the season of 2011 and 2012 in triculture (pea-wheat-maize) and biculture (wheat-maize) at three fertilisation levels (control, N50+P35K40, N150+P105K120). Two different cropyears were compared (2011 and 2012).
The research focused on the effects of forecrop and fertilisation on the Leaf Area Index, SPAD values and the amount of yield in two different cropyears. We wanted to find out how the examined parameters were affected by the cropyear and what the relationship was between these two parameters and the changes of the amount of yield.
Examining the effects of growing doses of fertilizers applied, results showed that yields increased significantly in both rotations until the N150+PK level in 2011 and 2012. By comparing the two years, results show that in 2011 there was a greater difference in yields between the rotations (7742 kg ha-1 at N150+PK in the biculture and 9830 kg ha-1 at N150+PK in the triculture). Though wheat yields following peas were greater in 2012, results equalized later on at N150+PK levels (8109–8203 kg ha-1).
Due to the favorable agrotechnical factors, the leaf and the effects of the treatments grown to a great extent in 2011, while in 2012 the differences between treatments were moderate. Until the N150+PK level, nitrogen fertilisation had a notable effect on the maximum amount of SPAD values (59.1 in the case of the biculture and 54.0 in the triculture). The highest SPAD values were measured at the end of May (during the time of flowering and grain filling) in the biculture. In the triculture, showed high SPAD values from the beginning. The same tendency could be observed in the 2012 cropyear, although increasing doses of fertilizers resulted in higher SPAD values until N150+PK level only from the second measurement. Maximum SPAD values were reached at the end of May in both crop rotation system
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Survival Analysis of Hungarian Large White, Duroc and Pietrain Sows
31-36Views:273The aim of the present study was to perform lifetime performance analysis in three pig breeds; Hungarian Large White (n=295), Duroc (n=76) and Pietrain (n=91) on a commercial farm using analysis of survival sows. We took into consideration the age of sows at the time of their inclusion into breeding, their age at the time of culling, time spent in production, number of mating and parities, parity percentage, intervals between litters, number and mean of piglets born alive and born dead, number of raised piglet litters, number and mean of 21 days old piglets, the weight and mean of raised litter and raise percentage.
We carried out the analysis by SPSS 22.0. Single factor analysis of variants, Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox PH model were used. The determination of the significance of risk rates differences was done by Wald chi square test.
Our results showed that the average culling age were 1056 (±33.52) days for the Hungarian Large White, 735 (±73.56) days for Duroc and 818 (±71.98) days for the Pietrain.
The log rank test of the survival analysis indicated a significant difference between the three tested genotypes (χ2=16.981, P<0.001), which means that the survival percentage of the individual breeds varied significantly from one another. In comparison with the Hungarian Large White genotype the Duroc genotype has a 1.6 times higher (P<0.001) culling risk while that of the genotype Pietrain was 1.36 times higher (P<0.001).
Our results can be used to compare the breeds kept under the same conditions and to compare the life span of one genotype under different farming conditions. Factors that increase survival and improve the profitability of pig farming can be determined by this method.
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Plant production possibilities on a heavy metal contaminated soil with the purpose of biorefinery
215-222Views:126Significant part of not cultivated area of Hungary is not suitable for agricultural utilization because of industrial
pollution. Technologies of biorefinery make reutilization of contaminated areas possible. Biomass of plants
produced on polluted soils can be raw material of valuable products. Applicability of biorefinery was tested on a
heavy metal polluted soil, where the contamination originated from previous mining activity. Complete biomass
utilization was aimed to obtain cosmetic ingredients, pharmaceutical agents, and precursors. During our research
work 88 plant species and varieties were produced and tested for potential utilizable components. Levels of
possible contaminants in these plants were monitored, and amounts of carbohydrates, protein, organic acid and
cellulose were determined as well. Different plant extracts were tested as potential sources of biologically effective
components or as raw materials for lactic acid fermentation. Our results show that biorefinery is a real possibility
for utilization of polluted areas. Numerous plants could be cultivated on contaminated areas without increased
levels of contaminants in their tissues, thus they can be sources of valuable compounds. -
The role of cultivar susceptibility and vineyard age in GTD: examples from the Carpathian Basin
57-63Views:228Grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs) are among the most severe problems in viticulture worldwide. The exact etiology and the role of endophytic microorganisms is not known yet and there is no adequate protection or curative treatment against the disease. Hungarian wine regions are also affected by the disease, and there is restricted information about the rate of infection nation-wide and about the susceptibility of the Hungarian cultivars.
The main objectives of our research are to measure the symptom expression and the damage caused by GTDs, to understand the epidemiology and etiology of the disease to establish a foundation of a proper disease management.
Cultivar susceptibility groups were created with the aim to allocate some Hungarian cultivars and the role of vineyard age was also examined in symptom expression.
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Drought cycle tracking in Hungary using Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI)
97-101Views:326Drought is one of the natural hazard risks which badly affects both agricultural and socio-economic sectors. Hungary, which is located in Eastern Europe has been suffering from different drought cycles; therefore, the aim of this study is to analyse the rainfall data obtained from ten metrological stations (Békéscsaba, Budapest, Debrecen, Győr, Kékestető, Miskolc, Pápa, Pécs, Szeged, Siófok, Szolnok) between 1985 and 2016, by using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI).
The results showed that 2011 was recorded as the worst drought cycle of the studied period, where the SPI ranged between -0.22 (extreme drought) in Siófok, and 0.15 (no drought) in Miskolc. In a similar vein, the study highlighted the year 2010 to be the best hydrological year, when the SPI reached 0.73 (mildly wet) on average. Interestingly, the Mann-Kendall trend test for the drought cycle showed no positive trends in the study area. Finally, more investigation should be conducted into the climate change spatial drought cycle in Europe.
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The Effect of Grazing on the Production of Sows and Pasture Vegetation
43-47Views:126In our experiment sows were grased during four grazing seasons, from April 28, 2000 to 23, August, 2001. The same number of indoor sows served as control animals.
The results of the blood test show that, as a result of grazing, the beta carotene level of the blood serum has increased threefold. This difference disappeard after the farrow 30 days.
On spring pasture, the grasingsows gained 50 kg in weight as opposed to 30 kg in the control animals. On the poor autumn pasture, the weight gained was only 30 kg, which was only 2 kg more in comparison with the performance of the control group. In the third grasing season the experiment sows weight gained was 13.7 kg and control group 37 kg. In the fourth season the control group weight gained was 4.4 kg more in comparison with the performance of the experiment sows.
Grazing not very influence weight of gthe sows during the preast – feeding. -
Investigation of genetic diversity in irradiated maize lines and its relation to hybrid performance
20-26Views:228Knowledge of genetic diversity among available parental lines is fundamental for successful hybrid maize breeding. The aims of this study were to estimate (1) genetic similarity (GS) and genetic distance (GD) (based on Jaccard index) in four maize inbreed lines; (2) to classify the lines according to their GD and GS; (3) to determine hybrid performance based on GD and heterosis for yield ability in 4x4 full diallel system. We used morphological description and AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphisms) for estimation genetic polymorphism in four maize inbred lines. We estimated the applicability of genetic similarity in SC and reciproc hybrids for prediction of their performance.
Three primer combinations were used to obtain AFLP markers, producing 207 bands, 70 of whit were polimorphic. The dendogram based on genetic similarities (GS) and genetic distance (GD) and morphological description separated four inbred lines into well-defined groups. Morphological description just with AFLP analysis showed reliable results. In view of genetic distance, the UDL 1 line and their linear and reciprocal crosses showed significant heterosis effect, which was confirmed by heterosis calculation based on grain yield. -
The response of sunflower hybrids to different plant densities on a chernozem soil
123-128Views:197In our experiment the reaction of six sunflower hybrids of different genotypes (NK Oktava, ES Biba, ES Diagora, ES Ballistic, EGH 8925, PR 64 H 42) towards plant density has been investigated by different fungicide treatments in the crop-year of 2011 on a chernozem soil.
In the crop-year of 2011 sunflower populations were infected by a significant Diaporthe helianthi disease. The extent of this infection was significantly enhanced by the increment of plant density. However, regarding the average of the hybrids and plant densities the two times executed fungicide treatment has decreased the infection rate by 22%. The most susceptible hybrid was the ES Biba. Contrarily, the hybrid ECH8925 proved to be the most resistant hybrid towards this
disease according to our results. According to the results of the Pearson’s correlation analysis it has been revealed that stalk breakage and Diaporthe infection stand in a very close (r=0.782**) and middle close (r=0.523**) correlation resp. with plant density. The relationship between fungucude treatments and stalk breakage, just as Diaporthe infection showed to be middle and close respectively. Our results demonstrate the role of stalk and plate diseases (among them Diaporthe) in causing stalk breakage, for we have found a close positive correlation between stalk breakage and Diaporthe infection (r=0.624**) in our analysis.
From the aspect of yield amount the optimal plant density varied between 45 000 and 55 000 plants per hectare. Fungucude treatments enabled not only the use of higher plants densities, but they had a yield increasing effect as well. In the crop-year of 2011 the highest yield (4 559 kg ha-1) on a chernozem soil has been measured in case of the hybrid ECH8925. -
Effect of agrotechnical factors on the activity of urease enzyme in a long term fertlization experiment
43-48Views:150The soil is a natural resource, the fertility preservation is an important part of the sustainable development. We have to monitor the transformation dinamics of the organic nitrogen-containing substances, to get accurate information about the changes of the nitrogen cycle in the soil.
Physical and chemical properties of the soil and the microorganism effect on the organic matter in the soil – in addition to the composition of organic matter. Wide variety of extracellular enzymes are present in this decomposition. These enzymes help in the transformation of the macromolecules to transforming low molecular weight compounds so they will be available during the assimilation.
The urease enzyme, catalyzes the hydrolysis of urea to CO2 and NH3. The urease is widely spread in the nature, it is present in the microorganisms, plants and animals.
We found that the soil moisture content, the rotation and the fertilization affect to the amount of urease in spring. Furthermore, we get significant difference between the irrigated and non irrigated samples in the second period of the year. Based on our results we can state that the activity of urease was higher in spring 2014.
The objective of our study was to present how the different agronomic factors affect on the activity of urease in a long term fertilizationexperiment.
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Biological potential of plant pathogenic fungi on weeds: A mini-review essay
59-66Views:166The invasion of weeds into productive areas has substantial negative effects on native ecosystems as well as agricultural production systems globally. Consequently, the task of maintaining or restoring these systems will become increasingly challenging without consistent, ongoing management efforts. The intensifying emergence of herbicide resistance in numerous weed species, coupled with the unintended pollution caused by synthetic herbicides, underscores the growing necessity for alternative, environmentally friendly, and sustainable management techniques, such as the utilisation of bioherbicides. Plant pathogenic microbes play an important role in biologically management of weeds, with the utilization of plant pathogenic fungi emerging as a promising area of study for novel research trends aimed at weed management without reliance of herbicides and to mitigate environmental pollution. A potential solution to decreasing pesticide usage involves the development of bioherbicides containing fungal active ingredients. Among the most commonly utilised fungi in bioherbicides are genera like Alternaria, Colletotrichum, Cercospora, Fusarium, Phomopsis, Phytophthora, Phoma, and Puccinia. Increased weed resistance to herbicides has influenced new strategies for weed management, with some fungi from genera such as Colletotrichum and Phoma already employed for weed control. Nonetheless, it is evident from reviews that further research is imperative in this domain, with particular emphasis on analysing the efficacy of each plant pathogenic fungi.
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Analysis of the Grey Colour Intensity in Horses
3-7Views:140An investigation of different grey coat colours and a connection between colour and age of horses was carried out with two Hungarian State Studs: Bábolna and Szilvásvárad. For objective measurement of coat colour Minolta Chromameter (Model CR-210) was used. The average value of L (lightness) level by Shagya and Pure Bred Arabian horses was 63.83 ± 2.23, for Lipizzan horses was x=71.00 ± 2.29 respectively. In each stud older horses (over 10 years of age) have a flea-bitten colour stage, which decreased the L value considerably. Changes in coat colour in connection with the greying process did not show an evident tendency in the three breeds.
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Effect of M9, MM106 and Seedling Rootstocks on Sunburn-Sensitivity of 33 Apple Cultivars, and Sunburn Effects on Fruit Quality
236-247Views:98The purpose of this study was to investigate the sunburn-sensitivity of 33 apple cultivars grafted onto 3 rootstocks (M9, MM106 and seedling) in a commercial orchard at Nagykutas (in the western part of Hungary). The authors also searched for any relationship between fruit quality parameters and the frequency of sunburn on the fruit surface.
During the observations, the cultivars had rootstock-specific properties in respect to sunburn-susceptibility. Accordingly, the injury decreased in the order M9, MM106 and seedling rootstocks. The differences in the sensitivity were founded on the foliage-morphological characteristics of trees, caused by the growing vigour of the rootstocks. Accordingly, the highest value of sunburn injury was observed on M9 rootstock, because this rootstock has a dwarfing effect on the grafted main cultivars. Thus, the vegetative area of these trees grew very slowly and the foliage was not compact enough to protect the fruits from the strong rays. The largeness and density of the foliage increased in the order M9, MM106 and seedling rootstocks. Relationships were also demonstrated between the diameter of the upper part of crown, the size of leaves, the number of fruits per tree and the injury from sunburn.
The damage values showed, that the gravity of symptoms did not decrease below a well-defined level of dimension on fruit. Determined potential area of injury was necessary for the symptoms to become visible.
The authors categorized the cultivars in the respect of values of sunburn frequency: I. „Not sensitive”, II. „Moderately sensitive” and III. „Very sensitive” categories were constituted. Generally, the Gala cultivars showed low damage (or were free of symptoms), in contrast, Golden mutants suffered relative strongly. The most sensitive cultivar was Jonica on all three of rootstocks.
We searched for any relationship between the fruit quality parameters and the frequency of sunburn. A significant correlation was found in the cases of fruit weight and colour-coverage. The latter can be related to that fact that highly colour covered fruits are found on the peripherial part of crown, so these are exposed to stronger sun rays -
Interpretation of sustainability in the utilization of renewable energy sources
61-64Views:121The utilization of renewable energy sources (res) is crucial regarding to sustainable reconstruction of energy systems. The target is a balanced, sustainable development of Hungarian energy management considering equally the ecological, social and economic aspects. There are many different technologies of utilization of res varied by sources, conversion processes, size and products. The comparison of each technology and their sustainability assessment are required by the importance of efficient remodeling of energy infrastructure. The group of attributes was composed by numerous important parameters in the course of our analysis with the choice experiment (ce) methodology. The estimation of each attributes’ influence on the individual’s preferences and choices was possible by this method and the preferences of the statistical population was concluded. So thus the utility derived from each attribute was estimated. The result of the ce analysis for the population of experts is demonstrated in the current phase of our research.
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Sporthorse performance testing in eventing by own and progeny performance
49-56Views:166The aim of the study was to evaluate the Hungarian Sporthorse population based on eventing competition performance. The database contained the results of 792 horses and 449 riders between 2000 and 2006. The eventing results were gathered from Hungary and other European countries. Blom transformed ranks were used to evaluate the sport performance.Three models were fitted to the Blom scores. Evaluating all the competition categories at the same time weighted Blom scores were used according to the difficulty of the category. The linear mixed model included fixed effects for age, sex, breeder, owner, location, year; and random effects for animal and rider. Horses from the database were judged by their own performance, and stallions were investigated by performance of their progenies on the basis of descriptive statistics of Blom scores and weighted Blom scores. Breeding values of eventing performance were predicted. To improve the reliability of breeding values, more progenies should be
used in eventing competitions. -
Opportunities of delineating inland waters and soil moisture with remote sensed data
95-98Views:127The methodology for delineating water bodies on multispectral remote sensing imagery was examined and evaluated. A supervised approach is tested with the aim to accurately detect inland water, moisturised soil surface and swampy patches on the Landsat TM 7 scene. The goal of this research is to investigate whether the application of remote sensing image interpretation could further refine the possibilities of future soil conductivity measurement research. The methodologies used were the application of supervised classification algorithms based on the training data collected in the area. The achieved overall classification accuracy value of 83.0795% suggests that the methodology could be used as a successful strategy to incorporate remote sensing data interpretation into soil conductivity measurement planning and application. The main conclusion that can be drawn is that processing of multispectral data with further refinement of the presented methodologies can led to very useful outcomes for environmental measurements.
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The Evaluation of Grazed Grasslands on the Hortobágy
50-54Views:137The sward composition of different grasslands on Puszta Hortobágy has been developed according to prevailing abiotic and biotic factors. The abiotic conditions have been more or less constans for long periods of time, and the abiotic factors are determined by ecological conditions (climate, soil, topography). Among biotic factors grazing of herbivores was important in the development of Hortobágy grasslands for centuries (Sipos and Varga, 1993). Result of three-year investigations on the sward composition of grasslands utilised in different ways are presented. Data on ground cover, number of plant species, representation of different plant groups (grasses, sedge and bent-grass, herbs, legumes) and weeds are reported from six different grazed grassland types from Puszta Hortobágy.
In 1999-2001 a sward composition survey was conducted. Sample areas of 2x2 m2 were marked out in three replicates: on temporarily waterlogged grassland grazed by cattle (A), on dry grassland grazed by cattle (B), on dry grassland grazed by sheep (C), on dry grassland grazed by buffaloes (D), on dry grassland grazed by buffaloes and geese (E), on dry grassland cut for hay in May then grazed by geese (F). On the sample areas sward composition of grasslands was estimated according to Balázs (1949).
The average ground cover of different grasslands ranged between 60 and 100% (Table 2). The lowest value was found for grasslands C and E, which are grazed by sheep (C) and buffaloes and geese alternately (E). In these grasslands were some open spaces, on the other grasslands completely closed swards covers were observed.
The species diversity of these natural grasslands are high (Table 2). The grassland F, which were cut for hay in May had the lowest diversity (17-21). The highest number of species was found on grassland A and B (32-51), on other grazed grasslands (C, D, E) had 29-48 species.
The different plant groups had different representation in the total ground cover (Table 3). The number of herbs was always higher then that of grasses, but the cover of herbs was lower then that of grasses. The legumes and the sedge and bent grasses were present in high abundance in grassland A, but in the other grasslands were not.
The composition of herbs should be a warning for future utilisation systems on some grasslands of Hortobágy. Some species of herbs, e.g. Achillea millefolium, Artemisia vulgaris, Carduus acanthoides, Cirsium arvense, Cirsium vulgare Eryngium campestre, Galium mollugo, Galium verum, Ononis spinosa, Rumex crispus, Verbascum phlomoideus, Phragmites australis can be invasive on short grasslands. -
Use of extensigraph in the examination of wheat flours
17-23Views:174The extensograph is widely used in quality control and research laboratories studying wheat flour quality. The most commonly used measurements include Rm, the maximum resistance (maximum height of the curve); R5 the resistance at a constant extension of 5 cm; E, extensibility (total curve length); Rm/E, the ratio of maximum resistance to extension; and A, the area under curve. The extensograph has proved useful in the classification and assessment of flours on the physical dough properties. Another important application is its use in wheat breeding programs. Furthermore, extensograph is an excellent tool to study the effects of a wide range of ingredients on dough properties of wheat flour (like oxidants, enzymes, salt and additives), and it can also be used measure the changes during the frozen storage. In the present study we provide a review of the scientific literature concerning the possible applications of the extensograph.
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Applicability of reflectance to determine compost maturity
31-35Views:156The utilisation of composts depends on their maturity and stability. A great part of the determination methods can be set in laboratory and needs complicated sample preparation. The aim of this paper was introduce an effective and fast method which based on the different reflectance of the different organic compounds.
During our research we examined the degradation process of compost prisms based on sewage sludge, wood-clipping and straw with temperature and reflectance measurements.
As a result, we came to the conclusion that the reflectance, measured at 645 nm or higher, is applicable to determine compost maturity if it is used with temperature measurements. -
Toxic elemental content of Hungarian blaufränkisch wines
87-90Views:197Toxic elemental contents are one of the food safety risks in wines. Therefore International Organization of Vine and Wine (O.I.V.) defined the limit of some elements in it. Thirty Hungarian blaufränkisch wines were analysed by ICP-MS in order to determine the concentration of toxic elements. All wines are passed by the O.I.V limits to toxic element content (Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb) according to analysis. Copper is the only outlier in some samples, but they also did not overstep the limit. In the case of zinc the maximum is approximately fourth, in case of cadmium and lead the highest concentration is less than tenth and sixth of the O.I.V. limit, respectively.
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Rye plant parameters in the Westsik crop rotation experiment
39-45Views:128Our research work was carried out in the Westsik crop rotation field experiment in 2018. The main research purpose was to analyse the effect of the different organic and chemical fertilizers on parameters of rye. Our results revealed some differences between the different fertilization methods. One spike weight, grain weight of one spike, rye plant height, rye plant weight per m2 and 1000 seed weight in crop rotations VII, XV and VIII were different from the data of all crop rotations. This finding can be explained by the fact that crop rotations VII and XV were non-fertilized, only 23.3 t ha-1 straw manure (VII) or green lupine manure was applied as a second crop (XV). In addition, crop rotation VIII consists of four parts where we apply chemical fertilization with green lupine manure as a main and second crop. There is a positive close correlation between rye plant height and other studied characters (rye plant weight per m2, spike length, weight of one spike, grain weight per spike, spike weight per m2, grain weight per m2 and 1000 seed weight).
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Economic impacts of applying EU animal protection regulations in hog breeding farms
76-80Views:120Hungary’s intention to join the EU makes it necessary to adopt, introduce and use the EU system of law. In Hungary, the legal control of animal welfare has improved (XXVIIIth law in 1998); however, most of our pig farms do not meet the EU animal welfare law requirements for some reason. We examined 9 pig farms in Hajdú-Bihar, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and Heves counties. We chose those farms which use the combined breeding
technology most frequently used in Hungary. The most important part of the welfare directive is the definition of the minimum space per animal. We analysed the data in comparison with EU laws. On the basis of the analysis, it can be said that there is a narrow cross-section: the breeding of piglets. During the cost analysis, we analysed cost and highlighted the permanent cost. We studied how these costs would change if EU animal welfare laws were observed. We also examined the specific data per 1 sow and per 1 kilogram of slaughter pig. We compared the present data (1999) with those we get if EU animal welfare laws concerning minimal space per pig were now followed. It can be stated that after decreasing the sow live-stock in accordance with EU directives, the permanent cost would increase by 17,7% per sow. If the required space per sow were provided, the total cost per sow would increase by 1,9% from 421,1 thousand forints to 429 thousand forints, on average. This would mean a decrease of 7,9
thousand forints profit per sow. As with the decrease of the number of sows, the number of slaughter pigs also decreases. Total cost per 1 kg of slaughter pig would increase from 214,7 forints to 218,2 on average.