Professional arable field day in Szár: Diversification in the focus

The Hungarian Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (ÖMKi) organized a professional arable field day called “Diversified biological bases and farming techniques for sustainability” at the organic farm of Csoroszlya Farm Ltd. in Szár on 22^nd June 2021, where a Best4Soil project workshop also has been hosted. Around 70 professionals such as farmers, sowing seed dealers, breeders and professional consultants took part in the event.

The central topic of the meeting was the diversification of crop rotation, focusing on how to diversify the relatively simple traditional Hungarian crop rotation through the integration of legumes, especially seed legumes. In the demonstration farm soybean and glumaceous cereal species have been added to the crop rotation, providing opportunity for the exchange of experience in the case of different forecrops and tillage systems. Besides crop rotation related issues, best practices promoted by the Best4Soil project also have been presented in detail together with the databases helping crop rotation planning. Judit Berényi Üveges, the Hungarian facilitator of the Best4Soil project, drew the participants’ attention to the information materials (videos, factsheets and databases assisting crop rotation planning) made available through the Best4Soil project. With the help of the mentioned databases one can model how the different crop rotation systems may lead to the appearance of soil-borne pests. Through the queries the database shows which crops may become optimal host plants for the given pests in the case of specific crop rotation patterns, and also predicts the level of potential pest damage, showing the vulnerability of the plant stand. One of the databases provides information on nematodes, while the other informs us about plant pathogen fungi and bacteria.

DATABASES ARE AVAILABLE HERE.