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Primary goal of the research
- To compare regional varieties that were grown before professional plant breeding. These varieties are the result of long-term selection by our ancestors who inhabited and shaped the land. We can say that regional varieties are part of our agricultural inheritance.
Our results
- Within our on-farm research, we investigated 35 regional tomato varieties on 28 cooperating farmsuntil 2016. Our primary goal was to explore the parameters related to agrotechnology, plant protection and nutrient content.
- Ten selected regional tomato varieties were also investigated in small-scale field settings on two organic farms if the on-farm network (Tahitótfalu and Szigetmonostor) for three growing seasons (2015-2017).
- We performed experiments on semi-industrial processing, and collected feedback from farmers and consumers regarding raw and processed products.
- We defined the most optimal conditions for the organic production of these regional varieties, and we established the basis of cultivation technologies for regional tomato varieties.
- During the research, we established successful cooperation with the Department of Organic and Sustainable Agricultural Systems(Dr. Anna Divéky-Ertsey) and the Institution for Plant Protection (Dr. Ferenc Tóth) of the Szent István University. We also connected with relevant operators on the product path.
- These experiments were the basis of two doctoral dissertations and many theses.
- In cooperation the with the supermarket chain, Lidl, the Máriapócs, Gyöngyös and Mátrafüred regional tomato varieties became available in the shops in May 2019.
