László Moldvai
Image Processing in Agriculture
Mezőhír (August of 2024)
In recent years, modern technology has revolutionized agriculture, introducing innovations that enhance efficiency and sustainability. The widespread adoption of GPS in the 1990s enabled precise row guidance and automated section control, reducing overlaps and optimizing field operations. In the 2000s, satellite imagery and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) facilitated field mapping and precision fertilization. The 2010s saw the rise of drones, further improving precision agriculture by enabling targeted treatments. By the 2020s, deep learning and image processing emerged as transformative tools, allowing for the detection of weeds, plant health assessment, and pest identification.
Image processing plays a crucial role in precision agriculture, helping farmers monitor soil conditions, detect weeds, and identify issues like waterlogging and soil compaction. These technologies provide real-time, data-driven decision-making, reducing costs and improving sustainability. For example, drone imagery can quickly detect plant stress, enabling timely interventions. Weed detection, a key application, leverages computer vision and AI algorithms to distinguish between crops and weeds, allowing targeted herbicide application. A recent study achieved 94.56% accuracy in classifying six weed species using a limited dataset, demonstrating the potential of image-based weed recognition.
Looking ahead, the integration of AI-powered agricultural robots will further revolutionize farming. These systems will automate weed control, plant protection, and harvesting, making agriculture more efficient and environmentally friendly. Advanced irrigation systems equipped with cameras and AI will continuously analyze crop conditions, detecting pests and diseases early. Additionally, automated systems will filter large datasets, highlighting only critical images for expert review, significantly saving time and resources. As technology evolves, image processing will become an indispensable tool in precision agriculture, ensuring higher yields, reduced environmental impact, and enhanced food security.
Dr. Hajdu-Smahó Melinda
Leading the way in wage increases - This year's compensation could exceed ten percent in Győr-Moson-Sopron and Komárom-Esztergom counties (contributing as an expert)
According to the Hungarian Central Statistical Office data 2023, wages increased the most in Győr-Moson-Sopron county (18.7%), while Komárom-Esztergom county saw a 15.2% growth. However, the sectoral analysis shows a decline in wages in the manufacturing sector, which has been hit by the crisis in Hungary and across Europe. Basic materials, batteries, and automobiles were the most affected sectors, but construction, retail trade, transport, hotels, and restaurants were also among the vulnerable branches. However, in the first quarter of 2024, there were significant wage increases in the public sector, affecting teachers, vocational trainers, nursery teachers, health workers, police, and military personnel. This trend will also pull up wages in the private sector: 60% of firms expect a pay rise this year, mainly large companies employing manual workers. There is a big fight for workers in the retail sector, resulting in wage increases of 10-21% in the first months of 2024. Three-quarters of domestic companies are motivated to raise wages to retain workers, and one-third to attract skilled workers.
https://www.kisalfold.hu/helyi-gazdasag/2024/05/beremelesek-eszak-dunantul-2024
Jenő Kontschán
Aphids on ferns
Relatively few species of aphids are presented about ferns, so far only two species have been found in Hungary. The black fern aphid (Idiopterus nephrelepidis) is found in ferns in greenhouses and apartments, while the red-eyed fern aphid (Amphorophora ampullata) is reported on ferns planted in gardens. The article at the link below reports on the characteristic morphology of the two species and the symptoms they cause on ferns (in Hungarian).
https://magyarmezogazdasag.hu/2024/02/16/pafranyok-leveltetu/2/
Jázmin Molnár, Tamás Tóth, Dániel Csizmazia, Eszter Zsédely, Botond Alpár, Bernadett Bana, Balázs Ásványi, Erika Lakatos, Edit Berczi, László Varga
Pre-feeding broiler chickens with fermented feed supplementation
Agro Napló 27 (4), 45–46 (2023)
The use of fermented feeds is not yet widespread in intensively produced broiler chickens. In the poultry sector (including broilers, laying hens, and waterfowl), further research is needed to ensure that fermented raw materials or complete feeds can be practically produced, stored, transported, and fed easily. Unlike pigs, the available literature on fermented feed used for broiler chickens is relatively limited. However, there has been growing interest recently in the application of fermented feeds, as these feed components can positively affect the gut health of poultry due to key characteristics such as low pH, high counts of lactobacilli, elevated lactic acid and acetic acid concentrations, and low Enterobacteriaceae levels.
Levente Vörös, Rita Ábrahám
Entomopathogene nematodes (Heterorhabditis bacteriophora) application against the larvae of western corn rootworn (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera)
BIOKULTÚRA (2022) 33: 6, 21-23.
Maize, along with wheat and rice, is the most important cereal crop of mankind. The world's sown area is 140-160 million hectares, and in Hungary it is the largest crop grown, which, together with wheat, accounts for 50% of our arable land. The crop management and the plant protection easy and it is a highly profitable crop from an economic point of view, so in most cases farmers prefer to grow it in monoculture. In maize growing, in addition to appropriate agrotechnical procedures (tillage, nutrient supply, crop density, weed control), the control of western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera) is becoming more and more challenging. The western corn rootworm has become one of the most important maize pests nowadays, so it has a great influence on both the quantity and quality of the emerging crop.