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Thinning and final cutting control in black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) stands: a methodological approach – Short communication
43-46Views:240Planning, implementing and inspecting forestry operations require more extent application of certain assessment methods. These methods may need to be improved and, in some cases, their simplification is necessary in order to ease their usage in practice. Knowledge and application of auxiliary tables and functions, data on volume and methods to estimate yields are needed for the planning of any kind of forestry operations, depending on the level of planning. The main purpose of this paper is to propose relatively rapid and simple methods to estimate the volume at thinning and final cutting, and the gross above ground volume at the harvest of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) stands, as well as to introduce tending operation models tailored for black locust. All these measures could be beneficial to forest authorities and foresters who are responsible for planning and production.
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‘Kindergarten’ keeping-system in farrowing house: effect the socialization of piglets on weight performances, fecal cortisol metabolite level and post-weaning behavior
167-174Views:495This study aimed to examine whether litters’ let-together system before weaning (‘kindergarten-system’) has any stress effect and effect on post-weaning behavior, respectively. One week before weaning piglets were socialized by removing four adjacent farrowing crate walls. After weaning, piglets from the same experimental groups were housed in the same rearing crates. The piglet’s body weight was measured at birth than weekly till the 7th life-week. Fecal cortisol metabolites were measured for evaluation of the adrenocortical activity. Personal observation and evaluation were carried out for behavioral analyses after weaning. There were no significant differences in weight development and cortisol metabolite levels between the control and experimental groups. Behavioral analysis showed that pigs grow up in a socialized system, rapidly evolve ranking in the rearing crates, and the self-maintenance and social behavior were more pronounced. In control groups, the activity involving movement (exploring, walking, and running) was much more decisive. Recent work suggested the beneficial effect of the ‘kindergarten’ system in the farrowing house in animal welfare aspects.
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Effects of Tillage Systems on Physical Status and Organic Matter Turnover of the Soil
42-45Views:679The cultivation technology for those plant, that play a key role in arable land production need to be renewed in order to reduce production costs and to protect arable land. The modernisation of technologies can only be achieved by applying appropriate tillage systems. Our measurements were carried out on chernozem soil with lime deposits at the Látókép Experimental Station of the Center for Agricultural Sciences, Debrecen University, in long term tillage experiments set up in 1989. We examined the typical physical parameters, the albedo, field capacity, the bulk density of the soil, organic carbon content (humus %) and the measured pH-values in the water solution within the two tillage variations. We have also modelled nitrogen cycle formation in different treatments.
A significant difference occured between the albedos of the two soils, which may be the result of significant amounts of stem remaining on the surface in the case of the reduced tillage method. The yellow, waxy stem of maize reflects 21% of the sun’s rays, especially at the beginning of the vegetation period, when its decomposition has only just started. This delys the warming up in early spring, which delays the sowing time of maize and reduces evaporation. In the two tillage variations, the water management characteristics do not differ practically, the wilting point field capacity are in accordance. In reduced tillage methods, the so-called „plough-pan” can be well measured at 15-20 cm, while in winter ploughing it is at 30 cm. The humus % of the soil does not differ in the two tillage variations, but due to the difference in bulk density this means a different humus and organic nitrogen content. The organic nitrogen content is greater in the reduced tillage method. On the basis of pH value evaluations, we could not detect significant differences in the two tillage variations. The organic nitrogen content of areas where reduced tillage method was applied is higher than in areas where conventional winter ploughing was applied. -
Using research findings in precision maize production
227-231Views:697The effect of crop production factors on maize yield are examined on chernozem soil in a more than 30 year old long-term experiment on the Látókép Experiment Site of the Centre for Agricultural and Applied Economic Sciences of the University of Debrecen. The aim of research is to evaluate the effect of fertilisation, cultivation, plant number, genorype and irrigation. The analysis of the data in the database of the examined period makes it possible to evaluate the effect of maize yield, as well as that of the crop production factors and the crop year, while the correlations and interactions between these factors were also examined. During the examination of the cultivation treatments, it was concluded that the highest yield was obtained as a result of autumn ploughing, but its effect largely differs in the irrigated and the nonirrigated treatments. Based on our examinations, strip cultivation should be applied periodically (e.g. strip – strip – ploughing – loosening) in areas with favourable soil conditions free from compacted layers.
In years with smaller, average precipitation supply or when the precipitation was higher than average, higher plant numbers were more favourable. Under drier conditions, but especially in several consecutively dry years, a lower plant number can be recommended which is not higher than 60 thousand per hectare. In the case of favourable water supply, 70-80 thousand plants per hectare can be used. The yield increasing effect of fertilisation was significant in the case of both non-irrigated and irrigated conditions, but it was much more moderate in the non-irrigated treatment. The extent of weed coverage was significantly affected by the previous crop. In the case of a favourable previous crop (wheat), the weed coverage was significantly lower than after an unfavourable previous crop (maize). In the case of the same previous crop (maize), the extent of weed coverage was mostly determined by the crop year and the extent of precipitation supply. Irrigation is not enough in itself, because if it was not accompanied by intensive nutrient management, yields started to decline.
The results of researhc, development and innovation contributed to the technological method which makes it possible to apply locally adjusted sowing seed, fertiliser and pesticide in a differentiated way, as well as to change the method of operations within the given plot. -
Characterization of Water Resources in Transcarpathia
277-281Views:222Transcarpathia is located in one of the wettest parts of the Ukraine. There are 9429 rivers and creeks in the county with a total length of 19.86 thousand kilometers. The length of 152 rivers exceeds 10 km, 4 exceed 100 km (Tisza, Latorca, Ung and Borsava rivers). The average density of rivers is 1.7 km/km2, which is the highest in the Ukraine. The existing water resources are distributed unevenly in the county. The river with the greatest mass of water is the Tisza. Tisza carries 75% of all existing water resources, the remaining 25% is made up of the water in the river Ung and Latorca. Disregarding the uneven distribution of water resources, 80% of water is used up in the basins of the rivers Ung and Latorca from the water resources of the county, which leads to the overload of rivers.
The main sources of water supply in Transcarpathia: subsurface waters – for the population of cities and settlements, surface and subsurface waters – for the industry, surface waters – for irrigation.
In the interest of protecting existing water resources, it is required to follow current regulations, detecting and averting contaminating sources and establishing water conservation zones. -
Validation of the competence profile of agri-environmental engineering bachelor course
63-71Views:348As member of the European Union, the development if the Hungarian agriculture is determined by the Common Agricultural Policy. After the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy in 2003, the environmental protection has got a crucial function. The constant changing role of agriculture has reacted students in higher education. For firms connected to agriculture, human resource management based on competency has an important role in custody of competitiveness. One of the most important goals of firms is to supply the demands of their economic partners. To make it successfully, highly qualified human resource is required. The quality of human resource is determined not only by its qualification, language skills, professional experience, and practise, but extant competencies that can also be developed. To choose the expectant employee, it is not enough for them to have intelligence and proficiency; it is also decisive to examine their particular competencies. All of these will define the employee’s
achievement that will definitely contribute to the success of the enterprise. Basically, closer cooperation is needed between higher education institutions and employers to achieve this goal. At the same time, the higher education institutions can revise their training systems considering the actual requirements of labour market, and accordingly, they can form syllabus in a way to train auspicious experts. In this article examination of the requirements of labour market for graduates from agri-environmental engineering bachelor course is presented. -
The past and present of Érmellék wine region
49-52Views:256Érmellék is an area of the Partium. It is situated between Szilágy and Bihar counties and between River Kraszna and Berettyó. Its name is from Ér, the small brook, which crosses the area. Érmellék is famous for its wine production, because its climate is favourable for this kind of trade. Only a few information sheets of the small Partium-belonging micro-region, Érmellék are published nowadays. Érmellék has extremely picturesque architectural wine cellar rows, of which ”szalacsi” wine cellar row (wine cellar row system) with its unique structure consists of about a thousand cellars.
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Evaluation of harvesting technology of vineyard pruning based on a Mátra wine region case study
91-100Views:241Wineyard pruning utilization for energy purpose is not only a theoretical possibility, the machine background has also been developed. Economic- and environmental experimentations has made by specialists and they seek to developed the best practice in logistics suitable for local conditions and they propagate the results for the potential users. Nevertheless, the utilization does not seem to be typical in Hungary and some other wine-grower countries. For example, in Hungary the additional energy from vineyard pruning eventuates – tillage, nutrient supply; – phy+tosanitary, environmental pollution; – energy management and economic questions.
In Hungary the most important problem is practice of the vineyard pruning utilization were mentioned by the users is the establishment of collection system and the high logistic costs as Marczinkó (2007) experiences confirm this. As I experienced in practice, the winegrowers are uninterested in utilization. Most of them burn it at the end of the vineyard in many cases without considering of the relevant statutory prohibition.
As my own several years expriment shows at Mátra wine region it is not the technical background which causes the failure. We can use effectively balers or chippers for collection. The cost of chipping is 14 535–27 000 Ft per hectars with the introduced technologies on Mátra wine region. The cost of 1 GJ of heat production is 606–1125 Ft. We can substitute the fuel with vineyard pruning and it means approximately 115 000 Ft saving for a family household per year.
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Combined traffic control of irrigation on heterogeneous field
187-190Views:968In arid areas, such as Hungary, most climate models forecast a rise in water scarcity. Irrigated land accounts for 2% of agricultural land in Hungary, with most irrigation technology being relatively outdated. The aim of this research was to lay the foundation for a combined traffic management system for a water-saving precision irrigation system on an 85-ha field in the Tisza River basin's reference region. High-precision soil maps were created to support the water-efficient variable-rate irrigation system by selecting and selecting areas for different agrotechnical implementations and precision farming zones.
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The Impact of Water Supply on the Quality and Health of Potato
144-147Views:407Besides its effect on potato yield, water also has a significant impact on yield quality. Excess water (too much precipitation, over-irrigation) and the lack of water (lack of precipitation or irrigation) both trigger stress in the plant and can significantly worsen the quality of the yield (seed potato) and deteriorate the health of the plant and the seed potato. Excess precipitaton or irrigation water leaches nitrate-nitrogen under the rhizosphere, consequently, the amount of available nitrogen decreases leading to the deficiency of N in potato. If water cover (the maximally saturated state of soil) exceeds 8-12 hours, it can cause root destruction (because of the lack of oxygen), which leads to the wilting and later to the death of the plant. Abundance of water caused by excess precipitation or irrigation is a major problem primarily on sandy loam, loam and clay loam soils with bad structure and water management qualities, but also on any soils, which are over-irrigated or irrigated at an improper time. Symptoms of the lack of water are detectable mostly when the available water content of the soil (disponible water) decreases under 60-65%.
In the present year, there was a lack of precipitation on the Great Plain, which can be compensated by proper irrigation. Unfortunately, this problem is further intensified by the high temperature, which results in faster ripening and accompanied with fluctuating soil moisture content, in the formation of secondary tubers. -
Sweet cherry fruit quality by half-intensive orchard management
76-79Views:320We made our study on fruit quality in the summer of 2005 on 6 cultivars („Bigarreau Burlat”, „Germersdorfi 3”, „Germersdorfi 45”, „Katalin”, „Linda” and „Van”) in a half-intensive sweet cherry orchard in Siófok. We measured fruit diameter, fruit width, fruit height, stem length and stem weight, fruit and pit weight and total soluble solids content. There were large differences among cultivars in the datas. These differences are due to genetic fruit-characteristics, because all other conditions were the same. We harvested fruits by 3 cultivars two times to check their characteristics on two ripening phases. We examined on these cultivars all the above listed fruit quality parameters. With these data we can be informed about the role of later than optimal harvesting time and how big an effect it has on fruit quality.
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Impact of fertilisation and the fluctuation of precipitation on the ecophysical and production characteristics of maize
39-44Views:557The aim of this study was to analyse the problems caused by the unfavourable (dry and wet) weather and its consequences in the R1 growth stage of maize (Zeamays L.), as well as their management and the alternatives of preventing yield reduction by using agrotechnical measures fertilisation, irrigation), also, we wanted to examine whether the Chl content measured in the R1 growth phase provides reliable prediction of yield per hectare.
The examinations were carried out in a moderately warm and dry production area at the Látókép Experiment Site of the University of Debrecen, Centre for Agricultural Sciences on calcareous chernozem soil in 2007 and 2008. Six different N doses (0,30,60,90,120,150 kg ha-1) were used in the irrigated and non-irrigated treatments of the field experiment.
The results showed that there is a significant strong positive correlation between Chl content and yield both in the non-irrigated (P<0.001, R=0.777) and the irrigated (P<0.001, R=0.801) treatment. The results of the correlation analyses performed yearly showed that weather factors significantly influence the strength of correlations, but these correlations are always positive.
The Chl content of maize leaves provided a reliable prediction of yield per hectare in the R1 growth stage. In the irrigated treatment, the correlation is always closer than in the non-irrigated treatment.
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Modelling forestation alternatives
35-41Views:643Agroforestry systems are part of the history of the European Union rural landscapes, but the regional increase of size of agricultural parcels had a significant effect on European land use in the 20th century, thereby it has radically reduced the coverage of natural forest. However, this cause conflicts between interest of agricultural and forestry sectors. The agroforestry land uses could be a solution of this conflict management. One real – ecological – problem with the remnant forests and new forest plantation is the partly missing of network function without connecting ecological green corridors, the other problem is verifiability for the agroforestry payment system, monitoring the arable lands and plantations.
Remote sensing methods are currently used to supervise European Union payments. Nowadays, next to use satellite imagery the airborne hyperspectral and LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) remote sensing technologies are becoming more widespread use for nature, environmental, forest, agriculture protection, conservation and monitoring and it is an effective tool for monitoring biomass production.
In this Hungarian case study we made a Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) to create agroforestry site selection model. The aim of model building was to ensure the continuity of ecological green corridors, maintain the appropriate land use of regional endowments. The investigation tool was the more widely used hyperspectral and airborne LiDAR remote sensing technologies which can provide appropriate data acquisition and data processing tools to build a decision support system.
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The Assessment of Sustainable Tourism
414-421Views:267Tourism as one of the most significant sectors of the world economy plays an important role in achieving the goals of sustainable development. The fundamental conditions of sustainable development are the proper management of the environmental, social and economic impacts, as well as the well-established planning based on a detailed analysis. Measuring the changes and evaluating the results are tasks carried out by governmental and professional organizations. The first step of the assessment is defining the concept of sustainable tourism. Indicators are the most widely used set of tools for the assessment. Several international organizations have focused on elaborating the most suitable indicators for sustainable tourism development and formulating assessment models based on indicators since the beginning of the 1990s. Neither a generally accepted set of indicators nor a universally applicable assessment method has been put together until now. In the present study a few definitions of sustainable tourism are reviewed, criteria for indicator selection are listed, followed by the presentation of a sustainable tourism model. Finally a recently published assessment procedure based on the Bellagio Principles is summarized.
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The aggregate stability of the soil in respect to the uniform aggregate stability indicator
83-99Views:251Soil structure and its quality are fundamental properties because they control many processes in soils. Tillage, crop and other factors influence soil structure. Efficient protection of it needs indication of changes in soil structure. A new Normalized Stability Index proposed by Six et al. (2000) tries to evaluate these changes, which was compared with some former used indices. The most common method (wet sieving) was modified to reduce the confounding effects of different particle size distribution of different soil types and method used to the investigation. Changes in soil structure caused by tillage and crop management therefore have been made quantitative and comparable. In this paper, we review the new method and Normalized Stability Index proposed by Six et al. (2000) and present the results of our investigations.
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Effects of different groundcover matters on nutrient availability in an integrated apple orchard in Eastern-Hungary
21-25Views:379The aim of our study is to examine the effects of different groundcover methods on nutrient availability and uptake of apple orchard. The
experiment was carried out at the orchard of TEDEJ Rt. at Hajdúnánás-Tedej, in Eastern Hungary. The orchard was set up on lowland chernozem soil in the Nyírség region. It was established in the autumn of 1999, using Idared cultivar grafted on MM106 rootstocks at a spacing of 3.8 x 1.1 m.
The applied treatments were divided into two groups according to origins and effects. On the one hand, different livestock manures (cow,
horse and pig), on the other hand different mulch-matters (straw, pine bark mulch, black foil) were used. The different manures and mulches
were applied on the surface to test the effectiveness of these materials.
The effectiveness of manure treatments was higher than the other treatments on AL soluble P content of soil. Mostly the manure treatments
increased the AL soluble K of soil. Our all treatments increased 0.01 M CaCl2 soluble NO3 - -N content of the examined soil layers. The effect
of manure treatments was the highest. From the results it was evident that the amount of easily soluble organic nitrogen fraction distributed
more homogeneously than the other mineral N fractions examined.
Our results can be summarized as follows:
1. Our results pointed out that the used ground covering matters divided into several categories regarding its effect.
2. The available N, P and K contents of soil were mostly increased by applying manures.
3. The effectiveness of straw, mulch and mostly black foil was lower.
4. Differences were found between nutrient supplying treatments and the treatments which did not supply nutrients. -
Evaluation of the yield and baking quality of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties in different cropyears
95-100Views:259We have investigated the effect of the cropyear, the genotype, the nutrient supply and their interactions on the yield and the quality parameters of three different winter wheat genotypes in three different cropyears. The most disadvantageous influence on the yield averages was caused by the moist weather of 2010, when yield results fell behind the mean of the two other examined years and the nutrient optimum was around low doses. The optimal cropyear turned out to be the ordinary 2011, the best yield results were experienced during this cropyear. Although the drier periods in 2012 decreased the yield values, the varieties could realize high yield maximum values. Considering the yield results, Genius turned out to be the best variety. In respect of the quality traits, 2010 turned out to be the best cropyear in case of all the three varieties. Despite the dry weather of the spring of 2012, the precipitation fell during flowering and ripening phases had positive impact on the grain-filling processes and contributed to the development of better quality. As a consequence of the significantly lower amount of precipitation during the generative phenological phases, the worst quality parameters were realized by the varieties in 2011.
In respect of crop year effect, 2010 was unfavourable for the amount of yield, but the most beneficial for the quality. 2011 was the most advantageous for the yield amounts but disadvantageous for the quality parameters. Although in 2012 extreme crop year effects were experienced after each other (dry and warm spring, moist and warm summer), the yield average and quality trait values were close to the yield averages of 2011 and quality parameters of 2010. Analyzing our results we can state that the average crop year was favourable rather for the yield. The appropriate amount of precipitation during the whole 2010 and that during the generative phenophases in 2012 favoured the development of good quality.
Consequently, the appropriate amount of precipitation is essential for the development of good quality during the grain-filling period. The negative crop year effects were only compensated but not eliminated by the good nutrient supply. Genius achieved excellent yield averages but performed worse quality parameters than Mv Toldi, whose quality parameters were outstanding but the yield averages fell slightly behind those of Genius. Considering the yield results, the variety Genius turned out to be the best, while Mv Toldi was the best in quality.
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Renewable energy on animal farms: support system and practical application
13-17Views:274Renewable energy applications were examined in animal farms. The investment support system for animal farms – which has renewable elements – has been summarized through analyzing the legislation and future prospects. The most important in this topic is the Animal Farm Modernization Support, which had several application periods during the 2007–2013 CAP budgets. For analyzing practical application of renewable energies interviews and farm visits have done in Hajdú-Bihar County. The questions covered the general attributes of the farms and the details of the (existing or planned) renewable energy application. In terms of economic analysis saving, the investment return time and the employment effect were examined. The results show wide variety of applied renewable energy application. The investment supports plays great role in renewable energy projects by lowering the return time; and through additional points in application assessing, which is an incentive for farmers to include renewable energy element in their modernization projects.
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Labour productivity in the Hungarian agriculture
119-128Views:311This paper presents the situation of the agricultural labour employment and evaluates the agricultural labour productivity in Hungary. Since Hungary’s EU accession, the share of agricultural employment in the total employed population has been stabilized at around 5% in the country. Due to low wages, low profit and low prestige, agricultural jobs are not attractive. The gross and net labour productivity gap between Hungary and the EU have been significant since the EU accession. The agricultural labour productivity of the Hungarian regions also shows a different picture. The labour productivity influences the cost, profitability and competitiveness of products. The advantage of the cheap labour force in Hungary’s agriculture significantly decreased due to low labour productivity. There are several opportunities to increase the agricultural labour productivity such as the increase of labour force qualification, moving toward producing higher value added agri-food products, rejuvenation of population in agriculture and the improvement of the conditions of financing agriculture.
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The analysis of ostrich chick vitality
35-40Views:519Examinations on ostrich chick vitality can help to improve the effectiveness of Hungarian ostrich husbandry and hatching technology. The investigations were carried out on an ostrich breeder farm in Eastern Hungary. For the analyses, the Tona et al. (2003) scoring system was applied presenting eight main criteria (activity, feather, condition, eyesight, the condition of navel and leg, the amount of the remaining shell membrane and egg content, and the size and tenderness of the abdomen). Most chicks (98.08%) were vigilant and had clean and dry feathers. There was no difference between the average hatching weights between May and August but a decreasing tendency was shown during the laying season. The vitality total score was above 90 in each evaluated month and was not affected by the hatching month. Our results revealed that the vitality of chicks was not affected by either the hatching month (P=0.51) or the weight category (P=0.11). Neither the hatching weight of chicks and leg condition were correlated (P=0.79). Results showed that the Tona scoring system with small modifications can be well applied to ostrich chicks. Practical on-farm usage of the system can be suggested as an aid in day-old chick evaluation. After individual marking of chicks, the investigation of growth and culling rate could be carried out for more precise conclusions, involving more farms and laying seasons.
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Integrated nutrient supply and varietal difference influence grain yield and yield related physio-morphological traits of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L.) varieties under drought condition
111-121Views:380The ever-growing world population entails an improvement in durum wheat grain yield to ensure an adequate food supply, which often gets impaired by several biotic and abiotic factors. Integrated nutrient management, such as nitrogen rate × foliar zinc × sulphur fertilization combined with durum wheat varieties were investigated in order to examine the dynamics of yield and yield related physio-morphological traits under drought conditions. The four durum wheat varieties, three-level of nutrient supply (i.e. control, sulphur, and zinc), and two nitrogen regimes (i.e. zero and 60 kg ha−1) were arranged in split-split plot design with three replications. Zinc and sulphur were applied as foliar fertilisation during the flag leaf stage, both at a rate of 3 and 4 liters ha-1, respectively. Results showed existence of genetic variability for grain yield, plant height, NDVI, SPAD and spike density. Foliar based application of zinc and sulphur at the latter stage improved the plant height. Nitrogen fertilized varieties with lower spike numbers showed to better yield formation. Co-fertilization of nitrogen and zinc improved grain yield of responsive varieties like Duragold by about 21.3%. Spikes per m2 were statistically insignificant for grain yield improvement. It could be inferred that the observed positive effect of sulphur, nitrogen and zinc application on physio-morphology and yield formation substantiates the need to include these essential nutrients in the cultivation system of durum wheat.
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Az észak-alföldi mezőgazdasági vállalkozások pénzügyi helyzetének elemzése 1997-1999-es adatok alapján
72-76Views:189The income of agricultural enterprises varies greatly according to the type of agricultural production.
We analysed the financial situation of some agricultural companies from Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg and Hajdú-Bihar counties. We got the data from the Department of Justice from reports made between 1997-1999. The available data was classified and averaged by counties.
Although the management of the examined enterprises ensured profit, closer analyses of their cash flows reveal that, at least in some cases, expenses were not always coverable, despite income. Both counties, major emphasis was on improvement and support investments. It is highly probable that these investments will later result in an increasing income level and profit.
Altogether we cannot say which county enjoys a better situation, and what the reasons for the differences are. Further data collection and analyses are needed to find the answers. -
An Applicable Method for Elaborating Agricultural Logistics Trends
66-69Views:233Hungarian scientific practice focuses mainly on statistical methods to elaborate sector-specific trends. This paper aims to offer another alternative. The author’s view is that in rapidly and significantly changing markets, data extrapolation is not necessarily the ideal way to forecast certain trends of the sector. Agricultural Supply Chains have been restructured lately. There are remarkable developments in fields such as: warehousing systems, telematic systems, transportation. This is one of the reasons several drivers may alter the trends determined previously by statistical professionals. AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) synthesizes expert opinions concerning the future, so it is a decision-supporting method and therefore more flexible to the changes of the sector. The author introduces the application of the AHP for Agricultural Logistics Trends.
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Feeding questions of organic lamb fattening
155-160Views:222Organic farming has done in line with conventional farming in the Karcag Research Institute of DU CASE since 2001. Our organic farming activities were enhanced with sheep farming and
grassland management in 2005. We started our study of technology development of organic lamb fattening and the treatment of its economic effect this year. Our goal was to develop
the elements of the technology to reach a more efficient organic lamb fattening. We also studied what economic advantages the organic sheep farming could realize in the present economic environment. Our studies were carried out between 2005 and 2007. We established that the excellent ewe feeding (good quality of fodder and silage) can decrease the lamb feeding cost between the 2nd and 8th weeks of the lambs’ life. We established that the
yield of convention lambs are significantly higher than the yield of organic lambs. The cost of organic lamb fodder is significantly lower than the cost a convention lamb fodder, but the profit was higher in the case of convention lamb fattening. The organic lamb fattening technology (without extra price) is not competitive to the conventional lamb fattening technology. We think that the profitability of organic lamb fattening is significantly less than of the convention one. The organic lamb price should be 20-30% higher than the other price to be competitive. Unfortunatly there is only a little demand for organic lamb and there is no difference between the prices of organic and convention lambs, so organic sheep farmers have worse economic circumstances than conventional sheep farmers. -
Examination of nutrient reaction of winter wheat after sunflower forecrop
9-13Views:284We tested the fertilizer reaction of four different winter wheat varieties in three different crop years, on chernozem soil, in long-term experiment. We examined the optimum fertilizer requirements and the maximum yield of the varieties. According to our results there were significant differences among the years: the yield of the winter wheat varieties changed between 1.4–6.1 t ha-1 in 2013, 3.8–8.6 t ha-1 in 2014 and 3.2–8.6 t ha-1 in 2015. The yield increasing effect of fertilization was significantly different in the tested years. The optimum level of fertilization was determined by, besides the genetic differences among the varieties, the crop year and the extent of fertilization. In milder winter months, due to the higher average temperatures, yields of winter wheat increased compared to an average crop year.