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Expanding crop rotation with soybeans

Investigation and evaluation of soybean (Glycine max) cultivars

and new soybean genotypes with extra-short growing seasons in organic farming, using innovative cultivation techniques. (second sowing, no-till or reduced till)

Soybean cultivation in Hungary currently covers an area of fewer than 70,000 hectares, but the aim is to increase this to 200,000 hectares in the near future. Three-quarters of the soy grown in Hungary is exported, while more than 500,000 tons of soy and soybean meal are imported into the country every year. This disadvantageous situation can only be alleviated by increasing production volume and developing local supply chains. Rapid expansion in this area is hampered, however, by the agro-ecological sensitivity of the crop, increased risks in weeding, and the fluctuating yield averages which result from these factors, as well as from problems with technology and a general lack of integration. There is, therefore, a need for innovative solutions which reduce this risk, and which can be successfully adapted to domestic conditions

Activities

  • Investigating the possibilities for using super-early soybean varieties (4-5 cultivars), which are not yet widespread in Hungary, as a second crop in an on-farm research system
  • Using innovative cultivation techniques, including no-till and reduced till.
  • Evaluating new cultivation techniques (e.g. second sowings of soy) in terms of their feasibility and adaptability to regional conditions, and introducing these varieties, with a focus on their economic viability, at practical presentations within the framework of our annual professional field days.
  • Testing input materials (seeds, as well as soil inoculation and plant conditioning substances) within the on-farm research system, and on small plots.

Expected results

  • Innovation will be put into practice both in terms of new cultivar varieties and cultivation techniques, and practical growing recommendations will be made more widely available in the form of advice booklets.
  • With the adoption of more suitable varieties and second sowing techniques, the area under soybean cultivation, and the overall yield, are expected to increase.

 

Magyar Nemzeti Vidéki Hálózat

The implementation of the research is supported by Hungarian National Rural Network (MNVH): www.videkihalozat.eu

Contact person

Dr. Éva Borbélyné Hunyadi

research lead

Agronomist, PhD

eva.hunyadi@biokutatas.hu
+36 20 374 7472


Related international project

Some soy research is supported by European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). Europe investing in rural areas.

Beneficiary: Consoritium, members: Ökológiai Mezőgazdasági Kutatóintézet Közhasznú Nonprofit Kft., Seiwerth Márton, Túri Zoltán, Zádorfalvi-Gazdag Gyula János, Munkácsy-Tej Termelő Szolgáltató és Kereskedelmi Kft.
Name and code of the call for proposals: Establishment of Operational Innovation Groups and the Investment Required for Implementation of the Innovation Project, VP3-16.1.1-4.1.5-4.2.1-4.2.2-8.1.1-8.2.1-8.3.1-8.5.1-8.5.2-8.6.1-17
Project title, ID: A plan for the development of complex procedures for organic and low-input soy cultivation, 1935414423
Amount of contracted support: 144.820.703,-HUF
Rate of support(%): 64,3 %
Brief summary of project contents: Reliable protein feed: Development of a complex cultivation method of soy production that can be applied in sustainable organic farming
Planned project finish date: 31.03.2022.
Further information: https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries

The development of a list of recommended soy varieties that are well adapted to the specific conditions of organic production requires an evaluation system that examines the given variety under organic production conditions in different production areas, where yield quantity, yield quality, and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress are all considered. By developing a new system of variety evaluation criteria, breeders and distributors can isolate and recommend varieties that are adapted to the particular agro-climatological characteristics and aridity of the growing location, in order to increase the reliability of cultivation. 

The current variety classification system does not specifically address characteristics of importance for organic farming in variety descriptions, and the indication of such characteristics (e.g. rapid initial growth) is only incidental. Lists of recommended varieties and cultivation technologies for different agro-ecological zones are also not available. During the two-year project, we tested four early varieties in four agro-ecological districts (Southern Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia, the Northern Great Plain, and the Southern Great Plain) using an on-farm experimental method, with parallel tests run under conventional and organic conditions, supplemented with the standard agrotechnical modifications for the variety (seed and soil treatment). We develop a special system of criteria for the evaluation of varieties. Our partners use conventional and/or organic agrotechnologies.

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On the 10th of September 2020 ÖMKi organized a workshop in Püski and Győrsövényház, focusing on the cultivation of organic soybeans.

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Weed control: an important task in organic soybean production

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Soybean cultivation professional day in Püski, Hungary

On 7 September 2021, in Püski and Győrsövényház (Hungary), the Hungarian Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (ÖMKi) held an event focusing on the cultivation of organic soy, in conjunction with the Hungarian Soy and Protein Plant Association, which introduced a number of new varieties.

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