(English) The history of Hungarian maize growing from the Turkish devastation to the EU accession
(Dr. Csaba L. Marton)
The article outlines the history of maize growing in Hungary up to the date. It gives a comprehensive picture about using the crop for supplying energy and for milling industry. The future prospects of organic maize production and the role of breeding in the control of western corn rootworm are also dealt with.

CROP MANAGEMENT PROGRAMMES

Climatic factors and the impact of their changes on the stability of maize growing
(Dr. Mihály Sárvári, Nóra El Hallof, Zsuzsa Molnár)
The frequency of dry years has highly increased due to climate change and global warming, especially in the past two decades. Because of the adverse climatic factors, fluctuations in maize yields have reached 30-60 %, cropping stability has considerably reduced. The authors, based on their studies, conclude that the negative effects of climatic factors can be efficiently decreased by choosing appropriate varieties for growing, reasonable crop rotation, balanced nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium supply, sowing earlier within the optimum time range, lower crop density, efficient pest management, carrying out cultural operations at a due time and in good quality. Professional application of the above elements will increase efficiency of growing and cropping stability.

Following new generation Mv maize yields (x)
(Emil Bodnár)
Bázismag Ltd. recommends growers the new generation maize hybrids bred at Martonvásár.

The effect of climate extremities on the genetic and crop management development
(Péter Könczöl, Dr. József Csajbók)
Monsanto Ltd. and the University of Debrecen Centre of Agricultural Sciences jointly established physiological trials in order to get a clearer picture about the biological background of grain development and cropping stability. This will allow them to understand tolerance of maize to heat and drought, furthermore, to obtain more information about their hybrids in commercial growing.

Risk management with new generation DEKALB hybrids (x)
(István Szanyi)
Monsanto Trading Ltd. outlines the advantages of using the new generation DEKALB hybrids.

The performance of maize varieties under dry conditions
(Dr. Dénes Szieberth, József Csapó, Dr. Tamás Árendás)
Maize hybrids respond differently to environmental conditions. It is difficult to forecast the effect of fungal diseases and damages by infections, because in addition to the eventual susceptibility of a variety, several other factors have a role in the outbreak. Drought is a predisposing factor for the majority of the diseases common in Hungary. Besides, the varieties not always possess the capacity for high yields and cropping stability. Varieties with fairly good performance under favourable conditions may have a weak point in adaptation to the prevailing conditions.

Sow KWS maize; reap success! (x)
(Zsolt Kónya)
KWS offers its hybrids for successful maize growing.

The effect of the year and fertilizer application on maize and wheat crop
(Endre Széll)
The investigator of the Cereal Research Non-Profit Company assesses the effect of fertilizers on maize and wheat crops against three criteria, such as crop quality, quantity and the main characteristics of soil. The article gives an account of three cropping years (2005-2007) for maize and two ones (2006-2007) for wheat, sharing the conclusions of the trials with readers.

Maize growing at Nak
(Gyula Soltész)
The author, a professional of Nak Agricultural Co. sums up the experience of maize growing obtained over the past few years at his company. He shows the proportion of maize in the cropping structure and the cornerstones of the crop management programme.

Experience of maize production obtained at Bonyhád. Report
(Norbert Rácz)
In this interview András Sebestyén, the production manager of Pannónia Agricultural Co. in Bonyhád, speaks about the conclusions of maize growing in 2007 and the key factors of production.

With Syngenta hybrids towards a successful 2008!(x)
(Tivadar Boncsarovszky)
This is Syngenta Seeds Ltd.’s hybrid offer for maize growers.

Last year’s experience in maize growing at Ságvár. Report.
(Norbert Rácz)
We asked Gyula Nagy, the crop production and plant protection manager of Tricciana Agricultural Co. in Ságvár about his views concerning the key issues of maize growing in the light of the past droughty season.

Lessons learned in maize growing in county Tolna during year 2007. (x)
(Zoltán Daoda)
The article outlines he advantages of using compounds containing soil bacteria mirrored by the lessons learned in 2007.

WEED CONTROL, PEST MANAGEMENT

Chemical weed control in maize after the atrazin ban
(Zsuzsanna Hoffmann Pathy)
In 2007 an over 50-year-old period of chemical weed control in maize came to an end. The evaluation, undertaken in the frame of the pesticide review programme taking place in the European Union, resulted in definitely banning the use of atrazin herbicides for 2008. Therefore it is worthwhile to sum up to what extent this fact changes chemical weed control in maize.

Weed control offer following the changing needs by Hungarian Kwizda (x)
(Tamás Fehér)
This is Hungarian Kwizda’s herbicide offer for maize growers in 2008.

A milestone in weed management
(Dr. Péter Reisinger, Dr. Endre Széll)
Three years ago a group of professionals experienced in practical herbology decided to create a publicly accessible, Internet-based system for planning weed control in maize. As a result of research and development undertaken since that time, the computer-aided program is ready for testing and use.

Duo System, the unique weed control programme in maize (x)
(Ferenc Jáger)
Summit-Agro Hungary Ltd. recommends new maize hybrids linked to Duo System weed control programme.

A permanent but not infeasible pest management problem: western corn rootworm
(Dr. Géza Ripka)
Since the first occurrence of western corn rootworm in Hungary in 1995, the pest has been established in all the counties of the country. Its control is actually obligatory in a significant part of Hungary. The results of treatments differ year by year and from region to region, often from holding to holding. Examining the reasons of success and failure, the specialist of the Central Agricultural Office considers the obtained experience about the relationship of the population densities and damages of western corn rootworm and weather conditions. Concluding the reasons of the changes, he also deals with the jobs to be done by growers.

The role of crop management elements in the control of western corn rootworm
(Dr. Endre Széll, Ibolya Hatala Zsellér)
In order to develop a sound management programme for western corn rootworm, first of all the biology and life cycle of the pest with one generation per year needed to be clarified to allow proper timing of treatments. The authors studied the efficacy of methods with and without insecticides in the control of western corn rootworm.

A breakthrough in breeding for resistance against western corn rootworm (x)
(Zoltán Blum)
The specialist of Saaten-Union Hungary Ltd. presents the first maize hybrid, possessing natural resistance to western corn rootworm, which will be involved in official variety testing in Hungary this year.

Alternatives for controlling western corn rootworm, the prospects of breeding for resistance
(Dr. Csaba Szőke, Dr. János Pintér, Dr. Csaba L. Marton)
Breeding for resistance is an important part of integrated pest management, including the use of various selection methods imposing the least risk to our environment. In Martonvásár the main selection technique is measuring root-pull resistance, completed with measuring root size, assessment of root injury and calculating the degree of regeneration.

Cotton bollworm attacks again
(Dr. Kálmán Szeőke)
The droughty summer in 2007 resulted in a special damage strategy in maize, as more and more cotton bollworm occurred throughout the country. Observations on flight intensity support a practical and sound method, i.e. pest monitoring by sex-pheromone traps.

OTHER COMMUNICATIONS

Outstanding persons of our agricultural past. Béla Győrffy (1928-2002)
(Miklós Kurucz)
Readers may get to know the life and work of Béla Győrffy among the recognised personalities of Hungary’s agricultural history.

The effect of crop desiccation on the chemical composition of maize
(Gergely Szöllősi)
The author and his colleagues at the demonstration farm of the Gödöllő Agribusiness Centre Public Benefit Company study the effect of desiccation on certain quality parameters of maize. The experiments were launched because of the rainy periods starting at ripening time. The more favourable costs of desiccation compared to artificial drying and the aim of improving the efficacy of managing hard-to-control weeds both target on increasing profitability. Crop desiccation contributes to the increase of crop desiccation and weed control.

Current issues of maize quality
(Dr. Zoltán Győri, Péter Sipos, Diána Ungai)
Due to the more and more versatile use of maize, it is expected that the quality control test for feeds, having been rather simple up to now, would be completed. In addition to physical parameters, information on the chemical composition would gain more importance. This could be essential in particular in the initiatives for supporting bioethanol production, as in this case carbohydrate content and, within it, starch content will play an important part regarding chemical composition.

Storing dry grain maize in plastic tubes
(Zoltán Bellus)
Dry grains can be stored in plastic tubes under air-tight conditions with a minimal dry matter loss of 150-250 kg, in principle without any problem even for a long time. Considering that the capacity of plastic tubes is almost 200-250 tons, this technology can solve the storage problems of not only the small and medium enterprises, but if possessing a sufficient number of such tubes, it can contribute to finding the solution for questions of holdings with higher storage capacities.

Written anno…
(Dr. Péter Inczédy)