Articles
SITUATION AND PROSPECTS OF VEGETABLE GROWING AND BREEDING IN HUNGARY
Though vegetables occupy only 2% of the arable area, their share in production value comes to 6,5%.
Vegetables as well as agricultural crops had been produced in large-scale farms, mostly in coop farms, before the political change in 1989. In the last 6 years the majority of coop farms have ceased to exist and private farms have taken their place.
Consequently, vegetable growing has broken up into small areas averaging 0,5–1 ha/family.
In itself this is not a problem.
After all, growers in Holland, the model horticultural country, haven’t much more.
Our difficulties are due to lack of infrastructure, and development is badly hindered by our financial position.
Hungarian vegetable growing has always had and still has three duties to fulfill:
- to supply the population with fresh vegetables,
- to supply the processing industry with raw material, and
- to utilize export possibilities.
In Hungary there were and still are vegetable species grown on large areas (tomato, pepper, onion, bean, peas) and others of smaller importance the cultivation of which depends on dietary customs (eggplant, leek etc.)
| Area distribution of vegetables species in ha |
| Peas | 16000 | Sweet Corn | 15000 |
| Bean | 12000 | Onion | 9000 |
| Tomato | 8900 | Watermelon | 8100 |
| Pepper | 8050 | Pepper for powder | 4500 |
| Carrot | 5000 | Cabbage | 4000 |
| Cucumber | 3500 | Parsley | 2500 |
| Beet | 1500 | Muskmelon | 1500 |
| Cauliflower | 1250 | Savoy cabbage | 1100 |
| Kohlrabi | 1100 | Others | 2000 |
Due to our geographic position, vegetables are mostly grown in fields, but in the winter and spring months also in greenhouses and under plastic.
In Hungary, greenhouses occupy only 120–160 ha and they are mostly 10 years or more old.
The area under plastics – heated and unheated together – comes to 2800–3000 ha. 80% of greenhouses and 70% of heated plastic houses are found in the southern regions (Szentes-Szeged).