This summer’s drought is already making its mark on Hungarian agriculture – the yields of maize, potatoes and apples are most at risk of significant decline. Experts from the HUN-REN Agricultural Research Centre warn that droughts are not only becoming more frequent, but also increasingly prolonged and affecting wider areas in the coming decades. Due to climate change, precipitation will not only be scarcer, but also arrive at less favorable times and in a more uneven distribution – according to Telex.
The short-term effects are already dramatic: the development of key arable crops – especially maize and water-intensive legumes – is hindered if drought hits during critical growth phases such as flowering or fruit development. Potato tuber formation is also highly sensitive to drought. As for fruit trees (apple, apricot, cherry), prolonged water shortage not only reduces yields but also weakens the plants, making them more susceptible to diseases.
Longer-term damage is even more concerning: repeated drought periods degrade soil structure, reduce organic matter content, and diminish water retention capacity. This combination seriously impairs the fertility of soils – warns Zsófia Bakacsi, Head of Department at the HUN-REN ATK Institute for Soil Science. Improving soil condition and water retention is a key issue for the future of agriculture.
Among the proposed solutions, researchers emphasize irrigation, more conscious soil management, the development of drought-resistant crop varieties, and the application of technological innovations – such as artificial intelligence. “AI algorithms can accurately determine the water and nutrient needs of agricultural plots, optimize irrigation systems, and reduce the use of agrochemicals,” said Nándor Fodor, Director of the HUN-REN ATK Institute of Agricultural Engineering. Introducing adaptive technologies is not only a question of sustainability, but also one of economic survival.
