This year’s harvest and sowing have come to an end

(Photo: Pixabay)

The harvest was significantly affected by the prolonged drought period experienced since mid-summer and the uneven distribution of precipitation experienced at the beginning of autumn, as the permanently muddy soil often made early work difficult. According to data from the National Chamber of Agriculture (NAK), the sunflower harvest was completed earliest, with an average yield of 2.5 tons per hectare, with a yield of 1.7 million tons from nearly 680 thousand hectares, which is about 4.9 percent below the average of the past five years. There are significant differences in the harvest results of the individual counties in terms of yields per hectare, from 1.8 t/ha to 2.9 t/ha.

This year’s drought also caused crop losses in the case of corn, and yields per hectare also decreased accordingly compared to previous years

A total of more than 5 million tons were harvested nationwide from 865 thousand hectares with an average yield of 5.8 tons per hectare. This crop was the most affected by the drought, and this year’s average yield is significantly lower than the average yield of previous years. There are significant differences in the county results, similar to sunflowers, while the average yield in the Western Transdanubian counties approached 7.7 tons per hectare, while in the Southern Great Plain this value was between 3.3 and 4.5 tons.

Among the autumn-harvested arable crops, soybean was also affected by the summer drought, and accordingly the national average yield here is also below the yields of the past five years

A total of nearly 250 thousand tons of soybean were harvested nationwide from a crop area exceeding 111 thousand hectares, with an average yield of 2.2 tons/hectare. However, due to the increase in the harvested area, this year’s soybean harvest exceeds last year’s by almost 50 percent, and the yield of the past five years by nearly 60 percent. The popularity of soybean is explained by the fact that it is an important protein crop, which is of outstanding importance as a food, feed and industrial raw material, and as a nitrogen-fixing plant, it is an important part of the crop rotation.

Sugar beet produced an average yield of 54 tons/hectare

A total of 454 thousand tons could be harvested from this crop nationwide, which exceeds last year’s amount. Potatoes also suffered from the lack of rainfall and the summer heat waves, with 173 thousand tons of crops harvested from 6.3 thousand hectares nationwide, which is also a better result than last year.

The autumn sowing of cereals and the related tasks fundamentally determine the next year’s harvest, so this autumn work is also of great importance

During this period, farmers must pay attention to soil preparation, selecting the right seeds, and determining the ideal time for sowing. Regarding these tasks, it can be said that rapeseed was sown on 132 thousand hectares, barley on 286 thousand hectares, and winter wheat on 914 thousand hectares. While the actual sowing area for rapeseed and barley is lower than last year, it shows an increase in the case of wheat. In the case of rye, 37 thousand hectares were sown, which corresponds to last year’s value, while in the case of triticale, the actual sown area of ​​63 thousand hectares is below the 2023 figure. In summary, it can be stated that this year, despite the weather extremes, autumn work on the fields was carried out properly. The yield of some crops is slightly below average, but for soybeans it is significantly above average.

AM