Country report Hungary
PROTECTED CULTIVATION IN HUNGARY

dr. ANDREA MOÓR
Hungarian representative

GENERAL INFORMATION

Geographical position: between latitude 45o45' -48o35' North nd longitude 16o05'-22o55' East.
The country is located in The Carpathian Basin. It is encircled by the Carpathians and DinaricAlps. Most than 70% of it's area is flat, only in the borders has some hills. The highest peak of the country is the Kékes. It is 1015 m high above sea level.
The country has two main rivers Danube and Tisza.
The country has commom borders with Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia-Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia

Total area: 93 030 km²

Population: 10 152 000
The population lives in 243 towns and 2893 villiges

Density of population: 109,2

Habitans of Capital (Budapest) 2 millions

Employment of Agriculture 6.2%
Industry 34.1%
Provision 59.7%

GDP/person 6938 USD

Climate: Climaticaly Hungary belongs to the continental climate.
Summer temperature is about 20days/year above 30^oC.
Winter temperature is some time can reach - 20^oC or less.
The average temperature from October to April 5.5^oC
from May to September 17.6^oC (Table 1.)

Table 1
Climate conditions of different protected cultivations area (an average 30 years)

1. area Szentes -Csongrád

Month	I.	II.	III.	IV.	V.	VI.	VII.	VIII.	IX.	X.	XI.	XII.
Average temp.oC	-1,8	0,9	5,6	11,1	16,2	19,2	20,8	20,2	16,5	11,0	5,1	0,6
Maximum oC	1,7	5,1	11,2	17,1	22,3	25,3	27,4	27,0	23,4	17,6	9,5	3,8
Minimum oC	-4,8	-2,5	0,9	5,5	10,3	13,4	14,4	13,9	10,4	5,6	1,7	-2,1
Hours of sunshine	61	87	142	180180	234	255	288	266	210	170	80	51

2. area Middle of Hungary

Month	I.	II.	III.	IV.	V.	VI.	VII.	VIII.	IX.	X.	XI.	XII.
Average temp.oC	-1,7	0,8	5,6	11,0	16,1	19,2	20,6	20,2	16,3	10,8	4,8	0,6
Maximum oC	1,5	4,8	11,0	16,9	22,3	26,1	27,4	26,3	22,4	15,6	9,3	3,5
Minimum oC	-5,1	-2,5	0,9	5,4	10,1	13,3	14,0	13,9	10,4	5,6	1,4	-2,6
Hours of sunshine	63	87	136	177	226	228	255	235	176	144	73	53

3. area Békés

Month	I.	II.	III.	IV.	V.	VI.	VII.	VIII.	IX.	X.	XI.	XII.
Average temp.oC	-2,6	0,2	5,1	10,7	15,8	18,7	20,3	19,6	15,8	10,3	4,5	-0,2
Maximum oC	0,6	4,1	10,4	16,6	21,7	24,6	26,5	26,1	22,4	16,5	8,5	2,6
Minimum oC	-5,5	-3,0	0,6	5,4	10,1	13,1	14,4	13,7	10,3	5,3	1,3	-2,8
Hours of sunshine	55	84	137	182	230	248	274	255	197	156	67	48

4. area Jászság

Month	I.	II.	III.	IV.	V.	VI.	VII.	VIII.	IX.	X.	XI.	XII.
Average temp.oC	-1,6	1,1	5,6	11,1	15,9	19,0	20,8	20,2	16,4	11,0	4,8	0,4
Maximum oC	1,2	4,5	10,2	16,3	21,4	24,4	26,5	26,0	22,1	16,1	8,1	3,1
Minimum oC	-4,0	-1,7	1,7	6,3	10,8	13,9	15,4	14,9	11,5	6,7	2,1	-1,8
Hours of sunshine	55	82	146	191	239	250	282	261	201	160	70	45

5. area Baranya

Month	I.	II.	III.	IV.	V.	VI.	VII.	VIII.	IX.	X.	XI.	XII.
Average temp.oC	-3,3	-0,5	4,4	10,3	15,2	18,3	19,9	19,1	15,2	9,4	3,7	-1,1
Maximum oC	0,0	3,7	10,1	16,7	21,6	24,5	26,5	25,9	22,0	15,8	7,4	1,9
Minimum oC	-6,3	-3,9	-0,6	4,3	9,0	12,3	13,6	13,0	9,5	4,5	0,7	-3,7
Hours of sunshine	41	70	128	177	224	224	255	236	181	142	53	36

Cultivated area: Approximately 80% of the country's territory is suitable for agricultural production. The vegetables productions 14% of productive land area, and 18% of agricultural area. (Table 2.)

Table 2.
Cultivated area in Hungary (x1000 ha)

Branches of cultivation	1998	2000	2002
Arable land	4710	4500	4516
Gardens	89	99	108
Agricultural area (total)	6193	5854	5867
Productive land area (total)	8036	7706	7732
Uncultivated area	13,6	15,9	16,9

Datas by KSH

Land use
After the change of regime in Hungary , approximately 90% of the land is given into private hands. The farm size is between from 1 ha -to more than 100 ha-s.

In Hungary ,agricultural activities have great importance and increase year by year as shows a datas (Table3.)

Table3.
Export of agriculture (millionsUSD)

	2000	2003
Agriculture (total)	255,89	667,84
Vegetables	124,48	147,15

Datas by AKII

Protected cultivation in Hungary produces vegetables two different ways: One of them in the openfield and the other one on protected cultivation. (Table 4.)

Table 4.
Vegetable production in Hungary (ha)

Cultivation	2000	2001	2002	2003
Open field	84 172	94 008	103 445	101 903
Protected	5 300	5 145	5 170	5 185
Total	89 472	99 153	108 615	107 088

Datas by Fruit and Vegetable Bulletin

Area of protected cultivation
There are five main areas where producing vegetables under greenhouses or plastic tunnels and with mulch. (Fig. 1)

Fig. 1: THE MAIN PROTECTED AREAS IN DIFFERENT REGIONS OF HUNGARY

1. The southern part of Hungary (Szentes, Csongrád)
   This area has many of geothermicwater most of them in use for greenhouse heating. The wells depth changes between 1200-2200m and the water temperature is between 76oC and 98oC. This area has the most glasshouse (80 ha-s) and high plastic tunnels (walk-in-tunnel 1 800 ha-s). Also there are low-tunnels (100 ha-s) and different kinds of simple covers such as agryl or plastic mulch (120 ha-s). All of greenhouses have heating systems and 30% of hightunnels have it.
   
   
2. Middle of Hungary.(from Budapest -to Szeged)
   This area previously has only low tunnels nowadays more and more walk-in tunnels (800ha-s)and greenhouses(18 ha-s) such us Rischel and Filclair (4,2 ha-s).
   
   
3. The Eastern part of Hungary nex to the Romanian border (Békés) has 18 ha-s glasshouses, 3,4 ha-s Rischel house and 280 ha-s walk-in tunnels. This area has the most agryl mulch (3800 ha-s).
   
   
4. The northernpart of Hungary. It is located 60-70 km far from Budapest.The name is Jászság. Here the most important structure is a walk-in tunnel (1200 ha-s) usually without heating and 2500 ha-s agryl mulch.
   
   
5. The southwestern part of Hungary next to the Croatian border (Baranya) has traditional low tunnels (460 ha-s) and 1200 ha-s agryl mulch covering.

Table 5.

Protected vegetable production by species

Species	2000	2001	2002	2003
Pepper (paprika)	2350	2400	2380	2300
Tomato	1100	1100	1090	1120
Cucumber	520	510	480	435
Cabbage	420	260	300	400
Savoy cabbage	90	75	60	70
Chinese cabbage	100	60	80	90
Cauliflower	160	150	150	140
Carrot	380	390	410	400
Parsley	180	200	220	230

Datas by Fruit and Vegetable Bulletin

Season of protedted cultivation
Thre are 4 different season of protected cultivation in Hungary.

- „winter crop":It is growing under a glasshouse and special geenhouse such as Rischel (Fig.2) and Filclair with different kinds of heating systems. The sowing date for this cultivation is September, October. Transplanting date is November, December. The harvest season is from January-to July it is depend of crops. Used species: pepper, tomato, cucumber

Fig. 2: Rischel house with heating system and double plastic covering

- „early forcing": It is growing under walk-in tunnel (double or more plastic covered Fig. 3-4) with different kinds of heating systems. The sowing date is November, December, transplantig is February, March. Harvest season is from April to July. Cultiveted crops: pepper, tomato and different kinds of cabbeges.

Fig. 3. High tunnel with double plastic covered and low tunnel inside ((closed)


Fig. 4: Inside low tunnel open during day time
unheated forcing" All kinds of plastic tunnel used for it. (Fig. 5). The sowing date is February, March it is depend of crops. Transplanting from April and growing season is to November, some time only to August depends the crop price. Cultiveted crops are: pepper, different kinds of cabbeges and very few tomato.

Fig. 5.Unheated tunnel covered with rascel (protected to sun)

- „autum crop" We can use for it a glasshouse and a walk-in tunnel generally without heating, but if the temperature dramaticaly going down possible use some kind of heating system. Sowing date is Jun, July, transplanting August, September. The cultivation period to December. Used crops are pepper, tomato and lettuce.

Plastic and agryl mulch are using on open field for protection such as low temperature on different kinds of melon (80% watermelon) Fig. 6.

Lots of unheated walk-in tunnel cultivated with carrot and parsley sme times cellary.

Fig. 6: Watermelon production covered with plastic mulch

Yield, types and cultivars

We have many of years traditional with protected cultivation. The last 10-15 years the farmers use the update varities not only Hungarian breed, but all of varieties of foreign seed company too. That is mean the yield is stabil as you see on the Table 5.

Table 6.
Yield of protected cultivation (1000 to)

Species	2000	2001	2002	2003
Pepper	180	188	185	178
Tomato	98	100	100	104
Cucumber	84	80	74	59
Cabbege	23	15	17	18
Savoy cabbege	2,1	2,5	1,9	2,4
Chinese cabbege	3,0	1,7	2,5	2,8
Cauliflower	3,2	3,0	3,0	2,9
Carrot	12	13	14	13
Parsley	5,1	5,4	6,0	5,2

Datas by Fruit and Vegetable Bulletin

Pepper production: In Hungary we have special Hungarian type „sweet, whithe conical".(Fig.7.) Hundred % of this types were breed by Hungarian Institute or Hungarian private seed company. Also we growing „hot, long" type pepper (Fig.8.) too, before it was also Hungarian breed nowadays some Duth company also have the same type.

All to others vegetable varieties 80-85 % come from foreign seed companies.The farmers use year by year the update varieties, because all seed company has representatives in Hungary. They are every year organized some demonstration for the farmers and shows them a new varieties.

Technology
Hungary has a very good soil conditionseven the areaswhere using a protected cultivation. Growers used indoor greenhouseculture for a long time. As a results of monocultureproduction many problem appeared:soils had poor structure, high level of nutriens and many problem with diaseases. Usually these areas were disinfection different way On one hand by steam (under glasshouses) and the other hand by chemicals. As you know the chemicals is prohibited from 2005. It is mean the farmers have to change a technology. The most biggest glasshouse area and some farmer changed the growing system to soilless culture. (Nowadays 30 ha-s greenhouses have it). This technology need more input (money, knowledge etc.) than usually the Hungarian farmers have.
Most protected cultivation area is between 1000m2-3000m2. Some examination shows us under the 3500 m2 of soilless culture is not profitable in this moment in Hungary (by Tompos). Because the energy costs and the others (fertilizer,labor cost etc.) increase year by year and we have lot of cheap vegetable import from the southern countries (Spain, Greece, Italy, Morocco).

How to go to the future?

must be stop

small size of the growing area (minimum size is about 3000 m²)

selling alone (as you know in EU financiall support only for the producer organization )

increase the quality

increase the quantity

There are many of big chain of stores,who needs a same quality and huge quantity all year from the farmers

competition in a market

possibility to get more financial support --› increase the technical develop into greenhouse structure

possibility togo to the EU market by producer organization

must be organization between all producer countries

have to find a place for a product

In EU producing 54 millions to vegetables from itHungary producing 1.8 millions to (3.5 %).
The market is full of ordinary vegetables. We can be valid if we can produce special product (best quality,"hungaricum", etc.) in special time.