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History of origin and development of replacement of plants crop rotations is in world agriculture
53-56Views:142In practice of world agriculture a long ago the known problem of decline of harvests of agricultural cultures at their permanent growing, scientific explanation of this phenomenon became possible only with appearance of natural sciences. At first the declines of harvests bound to the toxic action of root excretions cultures on her repeated sowing, with development of humus theory of feed of plants of diminishing of harvests at the permanent sowing began to explain impoverishment of soil on a humus.
During a few centuries the known farmers development the looks in relation to forming of scientific bases of construction of replacement of plants crop rotations in the world systems of agriculture, set history of their development and improvement. The analysis of influence of possibility of optimal satiation of replacement of plants crop rotations is conducted by agricultural cultures on the level of fertility of soil, water and nourishing modes and their productivity. For the terms of the insufficient moistening a positive action is marked black pair on the improvement of the water mode of soil in crop rotations.
In historiography the problem of introduction and mastering of replacement of plants crop rotations for the decision of scientific and practical tasks of agricultural production is represented in many-sided aspects, worked out and the recommended replacement of plants crop rotations that are base on zonal principle of development of world agriculture that passed the protracted term of test and counted on various specialization of economies. But for today development of scientific and technical progress requires intensification of agricultural production with the use of intensive crop rotations and growing of high-performance cultures.
Hereupon there was a necessity of realization of analysis of the systems of historical value of scientifically-practical knowledge about development and improvement of replacement of plants crop rotations, as it gives an opportunity to work out to recommending a production with the use of the most effective elements of the past on modern agrarian business and allows to forecast them on the future.
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Values of Hungarian pigeon breeding
9-14Views:189Pigeon breeding has a history dating back several centuries in Hungary. It has internationally renowned and accepted results. Our aim was to estimate the range of values related to Hungarian pigeon breeding and draw attention to the importance of their conservation. We studied the biological values of native breeds and the appearance of pigeon breeding within the Hungarian culture. These include the use of the symbol, the relating beliefs and customs, language, gastronomy, architecture and object values, as well as the community-building effect. Based on our results we can say that this topic is worthy of further research.
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The development of the scientific bases of horticulture and the history of horticultural innovation in the Northern Great Plain region and in Debrecen
17-20Views:86It can be told about the second half of the XXth century that, apart from preferring the large-scale growing of field plants and the largescale
livestock farming, corresponding to the central political will of the communist era, the significance and innovation output of
horticultural education in Debrecen was rather of follow-up trait, of secondary importance. The Tobacco Research Institute continued the
research work, and then even this activity was stopped. According to a survey finished in 1997, the mentioned institute had no invention,
granted patent, protection for registered model or any application for patent in progress at the Hungarian Patent Office. Until this time, invention activity at the University of Agricultural Sciences was of medium standard. In the National Patent Office, seven patent applications related to agricultural production and nine patent applications for other fields submitted under the inventors’ names were recorded. In the same period, the Cereal Research Institute (Szeged) led the absolute innovation list of Hungarian agricultural R+D institutions and university education institutes by submitting 164 own patent applications. Both in domestic and international terms, the horticultural innovation conducted at the University of Agricultural Sciences, despite the individual research results and achievements deserving recognition, without appropriate background – remained unnoticed. Let us put it this way: for the past decades, the light of the Debrecen Flower Carnival has not been thrown on the horticultural teachers and researchers of Debrecen. -
The history and present of public drinking water supply and its regionalisation in Debrecen
147-151Views:161The public water supply played a major role in the urbanization of Debrecen city, just like in the case of many other cities. We had plenty of water and so we wasted it. However nowadays we experience a considerable decrease in the level of groundwater which causes an increasing need of energy for pumping. Beside the above mentioned the ecological threat and the decreasing water quality are also major problems. This study attempts to draw attention to the possibilities and the future of the regional water supply, by showing the history of the water supply, the sanitation systems of Debrecen and their present day activities.
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Life in two countries but one home land – Béla Lipthay (1892-1974) the entomologist
12-23Views:145Béla Lipthay lepidopterologist, entomologist, museologist, agriculturist, hussar lieutenant, life-saving Roman Catholic, descendant of the historical family Lipthay de Kisfalud et Lubelle did a long way from his home village Lovrin to Szécsény, the one-time land of his ancestors. His life coincided with the disintegration of the historical Hungary, and the most serious trials of the Hungarian society, culture and spirit. These changes affected him as a member of Hungarian aristocracy many times and in fact wanted to destroy him. The fortune of the ancestors have been swept away by the storms of the wars and confiscated but the human strength of character, the consciousness, the talent, the diligence, the sanctuary of faith have remained. All these made him possible to survive, to do his everyday hard creative work, which gained him affection and respect of the people living around him.
Lipthay Béla was mainly lepidopterist and dealt with the the species of Hungary. Place of his collection was first his native country, the Banat, and the area of the Southern Carpatian Montain, and after 1944 Nógrád county (Szécsény, Balassagyarmat, Nógrádszakál, Ipolytarnóc, Rimóc, Ludányhalászi etc.). The collected species belonged to Macrolepidoptera but he dealt also with the moths. During his life time he prepared a collection of 60000 individuals and maintained them until his passing away. Great part of this collection can be found at the zoological cabinet of Natural History Museum in Budapest. He discovered many species new for the Hungarian fauna such as e.g. Cupido osiris (Meigen, 1829), and described a new species (Chamaesphecia sevenari Lipthay, 1961) which later proved to be a synonym of Chamaesphecia nigrifrons (Le Cerf, 1911). He knew well the most famous collectors and specialists of the age. After the first World War he worked together with Frigyes König, László Diószeghy, Jenő Teleki, Norman D. Riley (leading entomologist of the British Museum at London, secretary of the Royal Entomological Society), Brisbane C. S. Warren ( member of the Royal Entomological Society), Lionel W. Rothschild (the most important private collector) and many excellent lepidopterists. After the second World War he was well known and respected by the Hungarian entomologists and lepidopterists: he was a friend of Lajos Kovács, the distinguished lepidopterist and Zoltán Kaszab, the eminent entomologist. He had a good relationship with such renowned Hungarian zoologists and entomologists like Gyula Éhik, László Gozmány, László Issekutz, László Bezsilla and László Móczár. He colleted also Hymenoptera, Diptera and capricorn beetles to be found in Hungarian and foreign collections Natural History Museum, (London), a Szekler National Museum (Marosvásárhely). He dealt with agricultural entomology because he was an experienced agriculturist as far as he had the opportunity to do that. He painted wonderful agricultural entomology posters and organized expositions e.g. on the pests of industrial crops and hunting at Balassagyarmat and Salgótarján.
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60th Anniversary of Hungarian Plant Protection Service
8-10Views:142The 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.
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The father of the term ‘biotechnology’ was Hungarian: The forgotten works of Károly Ereky
107-110Views:347In the Nature, Robert Bud gave an account of the fact that the generator of the concept "biotechnology" was the Hungarian Karl Ereky who, in his book published in Berlin in 1919 entitled "Biotechnologie der Fleisch-, Fett- und Milcherzeugung im landwirtschaftlichen Grossbetriebe" ("Biotechnology of Meat, Fat and Milk Production in a Large-Scale Agricultural Farm"), disclosed his observations and new views in that regard. Later on, Ereky's two essays, published in German language again, and other contemporary German sources have been processed which have confirmed the assumption whereas – in scientific terms – the further first applications of the expression "biotechnology" can be attributed to Ereky's works. Recently, we have explored and found biographical sources and documents which had been published by Ereky, which, however, have already been forgotten, by dint of which the story of origin of the first concept "biotechnology" can as well be clarified in a factual manner.
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The situation of agricultural education in the Hungarian language in Romania
11-14Views:110Our objective was to analyse the situation of Hungarian language agricultural higher education in Romania. Our analyses have been focused mainly on Kovászna county. Following the evaluation of the characteristics of the county, we assessed the situation of Hungarian language higher education in Romania. History is considered important, because Hungarian language agricultural higher education goes back to the 1860s. The best solution for measuring the current reputation was the completion of questionnaires, which was done by 140 randomly selected people in Kovászna county. Following the evaluation and analysis of the questionnaires we found that local agricultural education, plant production and livestock farming are important activities for the locals. However, it is sure that even if they are satisfied with the education, they consider continuous development very important, since it would be a major help for the employment and subsistence of fresh graduates in Kovászna county.
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Global tendencies in turkey meat production, trade and consumption
83-89Views:144Global meat production totaled 357 million metric tons in 2021. Poultry accounted for nearly 40 percent of total meat production, including 4.2 percent of turkey meat (5.8 million tons). Global turkey meat production has stagnated between 5.5 and 6.0 million tons since 2008, in contrast to the monotonous upward trend in poultry meat production. Turkey meat production generally occurs under well-integrated conditions, with some large multinational companies and smaller, regional players. The industry is exposed to a number of factors that affect supply and demand, including disease outbreaks, government regulations, consumer preferences, and economic conditions. Key factors driving market growth include population growth, urbanisation, and increasing consumer awareness of the health benefits of turkey meat over other meats. In addition, advances in processing, packaging, and distribution technology have improved turkey meat's shelf life and availability, further fueling growth. Turkey farming and production are mainly concentrated in certain regions such as North America and Europe, where industrialisation has a long history and infrastructure is well developed. Turkey meat production in these areas is sufficient to meet local demand and is often exported to other regions. However, in other regions where turkey farming is less developed, such as parts of Asia and Africa, turkey meat production is insufficient to meet local demand. This type of meat must be imported from other regions. The degree of self-sufficiency in turkey meat depends on the level of development of the sector in each region. This study investigates the factors affecting global and regional markets for turkey meat and systematised the development of global consumption, production, and trade of turkey meat.
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Milestones in the development of agronomic management practices in crop production
203-209Views:150From the dawn of the history of the human race, agriculture has always been a profound activity of mankind producing food and feed as well as various plant originated materials for further processing.
Agronomy, like any other human activity, depends on the perpetual development of knowledge and technical skills, - in a modern context – science and innovation. This paper is intended to provide the reader with information regarding the main phases of the development of agricultural production from the Neolithic societies through the early Mesopotamian and Egyptian empires to the inventions of first organised learned society of Rome. The major research findings of the past two millennia including agro-chemistry, genetics and technical development are presented.
Such a review should not lead to any scientific conclusions, but rather a philosophical postulate similar to that of Jonathan Swift written some centuries ago: “And he gave it for his opinion, that whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground, where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together”.
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Remembrance of Bognár Sándor (1921-2011)
16-20Views:84Dr. Sándor Bognár was a distinguished cultivator of the horticultural entomology and a determining personality of the higher education of Hungarian crop protection. Training of the scientific and extension specialists of Hungarian agricultural entomology would have been unimaginable without him. He was researcher of the Plant Protection Institute, innovator of the crop protection training’s essential and organisational standard at the Horticultural College and Faculty, who sacrificed his life’s work for developing the crop protection and for the tracking of the history of Hungarian crop protection. He dealt with the Pimplinae (Ichneuminidae) at the very beginning of his carrier and later with the difficulties of soil dwelling pests (Elateridae) but he dedicated a lot of time to the pests of rice and the pest-assemblages of fruit trees and grape. It is important to mention his activity on the phytophagous mites, thus one can call him as one of the founders of the Hungarian agricultural acarology. One top of his educational work was the wonderful manual „Agricultural Entomology” written with László Huzián in 1974 and 1979. László Szalay-Marzsó said of this book that it was impossible to write a better one. He has been right. In spite of his advanced age he participated systematically in the conferences in Hungary and shared the knowledge gained during his long life, and the morals and patriotism got from his models and developed considerably.
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Wine tourism of Tokaj- hegyalja
125-127Views:197The wine is still in Hungary in Hungarian history, culture, and one of the key elements of the economy are considered . Last, but not to the point of producing and selling the wine regions of livelihoods. Thousands of years in wine-producing traditions preserved in the modern winemakers, wine competitions demonstrate their skills. The Tokaj wine region of the World's major and significant wine regions in Hungary.
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Genetic structure of the Lipizzan horse breed in Hungary through the mare families
71-78Views:126Modern animal husbandry has drastically changed the genetic structure of some domestic species. The varieties, genotypes that we think we do not need at the moment can only be saved from extinction with the help of gene conservation. Traditional Hungarian horse breeds have a long history (more than 200 years) and a demonstrably different genetic structure from other horse breeds in Europe and the rest of the world. Consequently, their enormous genetic value is undoubted. The subject of our research was to study the structure of the mare families found in the population of the Lipizzan horse breed and the genetic structure of the Hungarian population. Out of the total 61 mare families in the world, 35 are present in Hungary. There are 11 Hungarian, 12 families of Fogaras, 7 original, 4 Croatian and 1 Slovenian mare families in the Hungarian population. The proportion of mare families in Hungary and Fogaras is almost the same. The proportion of Croatian and Slovenian families is negligible. In terms of their number, they are not significant in Hungary. For this reason they have little effect on the Hungarian Lipizzan population. Except one of the original mare families are in the same situation as the Croatian and Slovenian families. The Presciana / Bradamanta mare family is the most populous of all families due to their long stay in Hungary. The proportion of families is unbalanced. Seven mare families accounting for 56.36% of the total population. Given the basic requirements of gene conservation work, this condition is far from optimal.
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Wine adulteration and its detection based on the rate and the concentration of free amino acids
139-151Views:355Following the definition of wine adulteration, the authors briefly review its history from ancient times to present day and describe the methods that are applied for adulteration of wine from the historical point of view. More space is devoted to the Hungarian wine adulteration and to the detailed reports of the early methods, which attempted to discover fake wine. It describes in detail the current situation of wine adulteration and the fight against counterfeiting. The second half of the review article presents some examples of the analytical chemistry techniques with which fake wines can be detected. In doing so, priority is given to the discussion of high performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography applications. The end of this paper describes the free amino acid content of wines, and the possibilities of using the results for detection of wine adulteration.
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Element content analyses in the Institute for Food Sciences, Quality Assurance and Microbiology
203-207Views:130The role of chemical elements to ensure and promote our health is undisputed. Some of them are essential for plants, animals and human, others can cause diseases. The major source of mineral constituents is food, drinking water has a minor contribution to it, so the knowledge of elemental intake through food is crucial and needs continuous monitoring and by this way it promotes the food quality assurance and dietetics.
With the evolution of spectroscopic methods increasingly lower concentrations could be determined, so the elemental composition of a sample could be more precisely and fully described. Due to the results the gathered knowledge up to the present is supported and new observations can be done helping us to understand such complex systems as biological organisms are.
The quality of a food is determined by the full process of its production, consequently it starts with agricultural production so elemental-analysis usually cover the whole soil – plant – (animal) – food chain, by this way the „Fork-to-Farm” precept is true in elemental analysis field also.
The history of elemental analysis in the University of Debrecen, Centre for Agricultural and Applied Economic Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, Institute of Food Processing, Quality Assurance and Microbiology goes back to 1980s when the so called Regional Measurement Central gave the background for research. The continuous deployment resulted in an obtain of an inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES) in 1988, which extended the scope of examinations due to its excellent performance characteristics
compared to flame atom absorption (FAAS) and flame emission spectrometers (FES). The instrumental park retain up to date correlate to the developing analytical techniques due to acquiring a newer ICPAES in 1998 and an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer in 2004 – which sensitivity is three order of magnitude better compared to ICP-AES. The Institute supports the work with its own ICP-AES and ICP-MS since 2011. -
Connections between the folk dance culture and regionality in the area of Derecske and Mikepércs
49-54Views:136The culture of folk dance has been prominently cultivated in Hungary nowadays, however some regions are yet to be discovered by ethnographers. Stopping this gap by this time is almost impossible due to the small number of informants. Nevertheless, memories of ethographers’ collections, motion pictures, photographs, notes and the choregraphies made from them endure, on the basis of which traditions can be reconstructed, that were so typical of some townships at one time and have been forgotten by now. What can a recreated tradition mean to a community, that sometime was left to waste by them? This is the problem the article is dealing with through the history of Derecske and Mikepércs, two townships in Hajdú-Bihar county, revealing the regional relationship system as well as late and recent potentials of the area.
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The methodology of Event History analysis and its application in the quality control of raw milk
74-79Views:82Event-history analysis is among the most frequently adopted mathematical methods, mainly due to the numerous types of models, available in the analysis. This method is also appropriate for analysing risk. Specifically, it has been employed in medical and animal-breeding science to manage risks. In this article, I give a presentation of the basic concepts, the basic types of models and their theoretical basis. I deal with the nonparametric Kaplan Meier and the parametric Cox proportional hazard model. The case study is also analysed with these methods. The results shows, that the 16-stall caroussel is the most effective facility from the viewpoint of quality. Milking into assay crucible (sample- cup) is more effective than to the floor after 16 decades.
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Overview of the evolutionary history and the role in citric acid production of alternative oxidase
83-88Views:140All organisms are exposed to countless environmental effects, which influence in a disadvantageous way their life processes. They continuously adapt to the changing conditions and respond to the stress impacts by defence mechanisms. Through different signal transduction pathways they are able to increase or decrease the expression of their genes and consequently modify their metabolic processes. My interest focuses on alternative oxidase (AOX) enzyme whose expression is often increased under biotic and abiotic stress. The so far proven and putative functions of the AOX play a role in the ability of organisms to adapt to different conditions, such as heavy metals accumulation, pathogenic infection, oxidative stress and lack of oxygen or nutrients.
AOX is a member of the di-iron carboxylate protein family. Members of the di-iron carboxylate protein family are present in all kingdoms of life. They are considered to have ancient origin. It is believed that their sulfide-resistant and oxygen-reducing ability played a role in the survival of organisms during the transition between the anaerobic and the aerobic world. It is assumed that the AOX arose in eukaryotes through a primary endosymbiotic event, and this event made possible the development of mitochondria. Afterwords, vertical inheritance, and secondary and tertiary endosimbiotic events led to its spread among eukaryotes. It is assumed that bacteria obtained AOX by horizontal gene transfer from plants.
AOX-catalyzed alternative respiration plays an important role in the operation of energy-producing and biosynthesizing system of microorganisms. In these cases, the regeneration of reduced cofactors is an essential condition, and therefore may be rate-limiting for biotechnological processes, including the citric acid production.
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Developing vegetable and fruit marketability potentials in Hajdu-Bihar county in terms of Hungary’s EU accession
60-69Views:89prearrangement, Hungary will be ready to join the EU by the 1st of January 2003. In the course of negotiations, the Government places special emphasis on agriculture, because Hungary is an agrarian country. Agricultural production is an important economic factor in Hungary: larger a factor in its economic structure than in those of the present EU member-states. In order to preserve competitiveness, Hungarian farmers and its
processing industry require information on the EU's CAP and other market influences.
In Hajdú-Bihar county the quality of agricultural products fall behind the standards of the European Union. There is no real solidarity among farmers, so they are left alone and are unable to meet higher, those standards, which were introduced by the structural changes of the market. Unfortunately, there is only one fruit and vegetable marketing organization (PO) in the county, although its necessity and effectiveness has been proved several times.
Within the framework of Rural Development, agricultural marketing is vital, because together with the local FVM institutes, it can help the farmers by providing consultation, information, and by marketing their products. Since fruit and vegetable growing has a considerable history in Hajdú-Bihar county, marketing activities can be effective in assisting both the farmers and the processing industry in preparation for EU integration. -
Some strategic aspects of animal protein production
11-19Views:191The access to food shaped human societies and dietary models throughout the history of mankind. Animal protein consumption became a part of human culture. Data are presented showing the relationship of daily calorie and animal protein consumption as affected by capita GDP changes. Examples are presented how genetic improvement of animal and fodder plants influenced the resource efficiency and the overall environmental footprint per unit product. The two examples presented are: the dairy industry of the USA the 1944 and 2007 situation, and the Hungarian broiler chicken sector considering data relevant to 1930, 1960 and 2010. In both cases, dramatic improvements in resource efficiency could be demonstrated. The agricultural area required to animal feed production was reduced by more than 80% in both cases per unit product. Future possibilities are briefly discussed, referring to the still unutilized land reserves of the Globe, the new evolving technologies in progress inclusive the CASPR/Cas 9 genetic editing methods.
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Environmental industry and regional policy in Hungary
157-159Views:94The paper attemps to define environmental industry. The author has searched the history and background of the rapid development of this process. The study analyses the present and future regional development potential of environmental industry in Hungary.
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Modelling forestation alternatives
35-41Views:231Agroforestry 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 Role and Significance of Soil Analyses in Plant Nutrition and Environmental Protection
3-8Views:91Hungary has a rich history of soil analyses and soil mapping. Our main tasks today are the preservation of soil fertility as well as balancing the goals of production and environmental protection. The main requirement of agricultural production is to adapt to ecological and economic conditions.
In a series of consultative meetings in the past seven years, representatives from Central and Eastern Europe have analyzed nutrient management practices in their respective countries. According to a joint memorandum agreed upon in 2000, in the countries awaiting accession, the quantity of nutrients used per hectare is considerably smaller than the Western-European usage targeted through special subsidies. The current low nutrient usage contradicts the principles of sustainability and that of the efficient use of resources, jeopardizing soil fertility.
In Hungary, the use of inorganic fertilizers underwent a dynamic development, which manifested itself in an almost tenfold usage growth between 1960 and 1985. This growth slowed down somewhat between 1985 and 1990 and then reduced dramatically after 1990, reaching record lows at the usage levels of the 60s. The nutrient supply has had a negative balance for the last 15 years.
The increasing and then decreasing usage trends can equally be detected in the domestic yield averages of wheat and corn as well as in the nutrient supply of soils. Yields were the largest when usage levels were the highest, and decreased thereafter. Draughts have also contributed to smaller yields. The dramatic decrease in the use of inorganic fertilizers when adequate organic fertilizers are lacking endangers our soils’ fertility.
About 50% of soils in Hungary are acidic. Acidity is mostly determined by soil formation, but especially on soils with a low buffering capacity, this acidity may intensify due to inorganic fertilizers. Sustainable agriculture requires the chemical improvement of acidic soils. According to their y1 values, the majority of our acidic soils need to be improved. This chemical soil remediation is required in 15% of the acidic soils, while it’s recommended for another 20% of these soils.
Results of the analyses conducted in the framework of the soil-monitoring system set up in Hungary in 1992 show that in 95% of the analyzed samples, the toxic element content is below the allowable limit. Cultivated areas are not contaminated; toxicity above the legal level was found only in specific high-risk sampling areas: in the vicinity of industry, due to local overload. The basic principle of sustainable agriculture is to preserve soil fertility without undue strain on the environment. The intensity of the production needs to be considered according to the conditions of the site; i.e.; nutrient management needs to be site-specific. It is recommended to differentiate three types of cultivated land in terms of environmental sensitivity: areas with favorable conditions, endangered areas, and protected areas, and then to adopt nutrient management practices accordingly. To meet all the above-mentioned goals is impossible without systematic soil analysis. Tests conducted by the national monitoring system cannot replace regular field measurements. -
Assessment of Environmental Susceptibility/Vulnerability of Soils
62-74Views:99Soils represent a considerable part of the natural resources of Hungary. Consequently, rational land use and proper soil management – to guarantee normal soil functions – are important elements of sustainable (agricultural) development, having special importance both in the national economy and in environment protection.
The main soil functions in the biosphere are as follows: conditionally renewable natural resource; reactor, transformer and integrator of the combined influences of other natural resources (solar radiation, atmosphere, surface and subsurface waters, biological resources), place of „sphere-interactions”; medium for biomass production, primary food-source of the biosphere; storage of heat, water and plant nutrients; natural filter and detoxication system, which may prevent the deeper geological formations and the subsurface waters from various pollutants; high capacity buffer medium, which may prevent or moderate the unfavourable consequences of various environmental stresses; significant gene-reservoir, an important element of biodiversity.
Society utilizes these functions in different ways (rate, method, efficiency) throughout history, depending on the given natural conditions and socio-economic circumstances. In many cases the character of the particular functions was not properly taken into consideration during the utilization of soil resources, and the misguided management resulted in their over-exploitation, decreasing efficiency of one or more soil functions, and – over a certain limit – serious environmental deterioration.
Soil resources are threatened by the following environmental stresses:
– soil degradation processes;
– extreme moisture regime;
– nutrient stresses (deficiency or toxicity);
– environmental pollution.
Environmental stresses caused by natural factors or human activities represent an increasing ecological threat to the biosphere, as well as a socio-economic risk for sustainable development, including rational land use and soil management.
The stresses are caused by the integrated impacts of various soil properties, which are the results of soil processes (mass and energy regimes, abiotic and biotic transport and transformation and their interactions) under the combined influences of soil forming factors. Consequently, the control of soil processes is a great challenge and the main task of soil science and soil management in sustainable development.
The efficient control of these processes necessitates the following consecutive steps:
• registration of facts and consequences (information on land and soil characteristics, land use, cropping pattern, applied agrotechnics, yields, with their spatial and temporal variability);
• evaluation of potential reasons (definition and quantification of soil processes, analysis of influencing factors and their mechanisms);
• assessment of the theoretical, real, rational and economic possibilities for the control of soil processes (including their risk-assessment and impact analysis);
• elaboration of efficient technologies for the „best” control alternatives (best management practice).
Scientifically based planning and implementation of sustainable land use and rational soil management to ensure desirable soil functions, without any undesirable environmental side-effects, require adequate soil information. In the last years such data were organized into a computer-based GIS soil database in Hungary, giving opportunities for the quantification, analysis, modelling and forecasting of the studied environmental stresses and for the efficient and scientifically based prevention, elimination or reduction of environmental stresses and their unfavourable ecological and economical consequences.
Special attention was paid to the assessment of various soil degradation processes, as: (1) soil erosion by water or wind; (2) soil acidification; (3) salinization and/or alkalization; (4) physical degradation (structure destruction, compaction); (5) extreme moisture regime: drought sensitivity and waterlogging hazard; (6) biological degradation; (7) unfavourable changes in the plant nutrient regime; (8) decrease of natural buffering capacity, (9) soil (and water) pollution.
The actions against undesirable environmental stresses and their unfavourable consequences are important elements of sustainable, efficient, economically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally sound crop production and agricultural development. These are joint tasks of the state, decision makers on various levels, the land owners, the land users and – to a certain extent – of each member of the society. -
Investigations of Thrips tabaci and Aeolothrips intermedius population dynamics in tobacco plantations
121-127Views:205Studies were conducted between 2015 and 2017 with yellow sticky traps in seven tobacco plantations. The purpose was to determine when and in what numbers onion thrips individuals can settle into tobacco plantations. The primary objective of the study was to determine the proper timing of chemical treatments, furthermore, the determination of crucial factors that can influence the population dynamics of Thrips tabaci.