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• 60th Anniversary of Hungarian Plant Protection Service

  8-10

  Ottó Pálmai

  Views:

  222

  The author briefly overview the history of the 60-year-old Hungarian Plant Protection Service, which has improved to a model by its ’golden age’ period with a well organized system and excellence of specialists on the chemistry period of Hungarian agriculture. The profound changes both in policy and economy resulted a serious structural changes which continue even nowadays. Meanwhile country borders have been opened than EU membership of Hungary have generated new challenges by appearance and spread of new pests.

• The effect of water-stress on the mineral nutrition of fruit plantations

  187-192

  Péter Tamás Nagy

  Anita Szabó

  Emese Berta Szabó

  Attila Illés

  Ida Kincses

  Views:

  379

  Besides agro-techniques the climatic conditions play an important role in agricultural production. Weather extremes are
  significant hazards to many horticultural regions all over the word. It has a profound influence on the growth, development and yields of a
  crop, incidence of pests and diseases, water needs and fertilizer requirements in terms of differences in nutrient mobilization due to water
  stresses. Nowadays, the weather extremes cause more and more problems and significant hazards to many horticultural regions in Hungary.
  The aim of this study is to explore the problems of nutrient uptake followed from climatic anomalies and response it. In this study
  we focus on water supply problems (water-stress).
  Reviewing the effects and nutrient disorders caused by climatic anomalies, the following statements can be taken:
  · Nutrient demand of trees can be supplied only under even worse conditions.
  · The most effective weapon against damage of climatic anomalies is preventative action.
  · Proper choice of cultivars, species and cultivation should provide further possibilities to avoid and moderate the effects of
  climatic anomalies.
  · Fruit growing technologies especially nutrition should be corrected and adjusted to the climatic events as modifier factors.
  · The role of foliar spraying, mulching and fertigation/irrigation is increasing continuously.
  · Urgent task of the near future is to correct and adjust the tested technologies of fruit growing according to these climatic events as
  modifier factors.
  Optimal nutrient supply of trees decreases the sensitivity for unexpected climatic events. To solve these problems supplementary, foliar
  fertilization is recommended, which adjusted to phonological phases of trees. Moreover, mulching is regarded as an excellent water saving
  method.

• An unimportant insect pest with characteristic symptoms: Halticus apterus (Miridae)

  19-23

  András Bozsik

  Views:

  392

  Halticus apterus, a tiny mirid bug with jumping hind legs has not been taught in agricultural entomology courses in Hungary. However, the most detailed agricultural entomology text book, the “Handbook of Agricultural Entomology” briefly presents the pest. Although, it is common in Hungary, its damage is insignificant because of the low density; it can cause quality loss in feed crops only. Nevertheless, its special symptom – spottedness – is worth taking into consideration. The author has been studying pests and natural enemies of alfalfa for a long time (at least ten years), so he focused attention on this species. Occurrence of H. apterus was only sporadic in the alfalfa field, but it showed characteristic and frequent symptoms at a density of averagely three individuals per alfalfa plants in mixed plant associations at the studied field edge. By presenting the damage appearance and form, it was possible to make a more accurate description of H. apterus’symptoms, and with evaluating relevant European references, also the detailed entomological characterisation, economic importance and assessment of future risks have been achieved. As a difference to former descriptions, the special leaf spottedness of H. apterus does not consist of homogenous round spots but rather of spherical conglomerations of tiny whitish dots caused by the piercing and sucking mouthparts and the injected saliva

• Possibilities of selection and production of blue and ornamental corn (Zea mays L.)

  15-19

  Zoltán Bódi

  Pál Pepó

  Views:

  260

  The cultivation of alternative crops has an important role in world agriculture. Their market share is continuously growing in the food industry sector. In the present study, we show the cultivation and breeding perspectives of ornamental and blue corn. There exists possibility to cultivate ornamental corn in Hungary. There are many cultivars of ornamental corn, with various kernel colors, husks, stalks and leave colors. Blue corn is unique among other corns. Blue corn higher in protein, iron and zinc than commercial dent corn. Pests affective ornamental and blue corn are the same as those of other commercial corns. Ornamental and blue corns need to be grown a minimum of 500 m away from commercial yellow dent corn to minimize any cross pollination which may result in off-color kernel. Our aim in the presentation of this review was to broaden Hungarian literature.

• Management of phytopathogens by application of green nanobiotechnology: Emerging trends and challenges

  15-22

  Mahendra Rai

  Gabriela Kratosova

  Views:

  574

  Nanotechnology is highly interdisciplinary and important research area in modern science. The use of nanomaterials offer major advantages due to their unique size, shape and significantly improved physical, chemical, biological and antimicrobial properties. Physicochemical and antimicrobial properties of metal nanoparticles have received much attention of researchers. There are different methods i.e. chemical, physical and biological for synthesis of nanoparticles. Chemical and physical methods have some limitations, and therefore, biological methods are needed to develop environment-friendly synthesis of nanoparticles. Moreover, biological method for the production of nanoparticles is simpler than chemical method as biological agents secrete large amount of enzymes, which reduce metals and can be responsible for the synthesis and capping on nanoparticles.

  Biological systems for nanoparticle synthesis include plants, fungi, bacteria, yeasts, and actinomycetes. Many plant species including Opuntia ficus-indica, Azardirachta indica, Lawsonia inermis, Triticum aestivum, Hydrilla verticillata, Citrus medica, Catharanthus roseus, Avena sativa, etc., bacteria, such as Bacillus subtilis, Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria, Pseudomonas stutzeri, Lactobacillus sp., Klebsiella aerogenes, Torulopsis sp., and fungi, like Fusarium spp. Aspergillus spp., Verticillium spp., Saccharomyces cerevisae MKY3, Phoma spp. etc. have been exploited for the synthesis of different nanoparticles. Among all biological systems, fungi have been found to be more efficient system for synthesis of metal nanoparticles as they are easy to grow, produce more biomass and secret many enzymes. We proposed the term myconanotechnology (myco = fungi, nanotechnology = the creation and exploitation of materials in the size range of 1–100 nm). Myconanotechnology is the interface between mycology and nanotechnology, and is an exciting new applied interdisciplinary science that may have considerable potential, partly due to the wide range and diversity of fungi.

  Nanotechnology is the promising tool to improve agricultural productivity though delivery of genes and drug molecules to target sites at cellular levels, genetic improvement, and nano-array based gene-technologies for gene expressions in plants and also use of nanoparticles-based gene transfer for breeding of varieties resistant to different pathogens and pests. The nanoparticles like copper (Cu), silver (Ag), titanium (Ti) and chitosan have shown their potential as novel antimicrobials for the management of pathogenic microorganisms affecting agricultural crops. Different experiments confirmed that fungal hyphae and conidial germination of pathogenic fungi are significantly inhibited by copper nanoparticles. The nanotechnologies can be used for the disease detection and also for its management. The progress in development of nano-herbicides, nano-fungicides and nano-pesticides will open up new avenues in the field of management of plant pathogens. The use of different nanoparticles in agriculture will increase productivity of crop. It is the necessity of time to use nanotechnology in agriculture with extensive experimental trials. However, there are challenges particularly the toxicity, which is not a big issue as compared to fungicides and pesticides.

• Interaction of yield stability and year in major agricultural crops

  41-46

  László Ruzsányi

  József Csajbók

  Views:

  241

  The effect of hydro-meteorological extremities on plant cultivation is the result of the correlation of many factors. These may increase or decrease the effects of hydro-meteorological extremes. The degree of this variance depends on the professionality of treatments, on the quality of the applied technique and technology and also on the soil’s water management characteristics.
  The water management characteristics of Hungary’s arable land are mainly unfavorable or medium. In the past two decades the conditions of originally good soils, from a water management aspect, have significantly deteriorated in the critical 0-60 cm soil layer. This is mainly due to unprofessional land use, a lack of deepening cultivation and neglected organic cultivation. At the same time, hydro-meteorological extremities occur more frequently and the sensibility of plant cultivation has increased.
  The sensibility of plant cultivation is type and location specific, yet, it also effects both the quality and quantity of the result.
  The stability analysis, which covered the period of four decades and incorporated 6-7 agro-ecological areas proves and highlights the following:
  • Winter wheat only reacted to extensive cultivation and unfavorable environmental conditions to a small degree. On the other hand, the effect of hydro-meteorological extremities increases.
  • The stability analysis of maize, which is sensitive to cultivation technology and the location of cultivation, proved just the opposite. Good soil and adequate technology significantly reduces the effect of any particular year.
  • From the years examined, the most favorable proved to be the one with average precipitation. Maize reacted to both extremities in a similar way. Winter wheat reacted to more precipitation with less yield.
  • The yield quality of winter wheat was negatively effected by drought. The negative effect of precipitation is limited to the period of ripening and harvest, so the likelihood of such an effect is not significant.
  • The yield of sunflower – due to pests – significantly reduces in years with high precipitation, while a difference between dry and average years cannot be pinpointed out. The oil content in both dry years and in years with high precipitation is evident, compared to years with average precipitation.
  • The root yield of sugar beet is reduced by drought while the sugar content depends on soil characteristics and climatic extremities. A difference could also be noted by location, whether in Western Hungary and on the Great Plain. Great sugar content can be achieved in years with high precipitation in Western Hungary, while the same result occurred with average precipitation on the Great Plain. Drought did not have a positive effect on sugar content in either location.