Is the Hungarian sugar industry in danger? There is something to worry about

By: Trademagazin Date: 2023. 10. 10. 11:50

In the Great Plain, sugar beet growers are facing serious problems due to a fungal disease called macrophomina. Thanks to the extremely dry weather, the sugar beet created excellent conditions for the fungus to colonize. As a result of the persistent drought and secondary fungal infection, the sugar beet began to rot, and in some areas the crop was completely destroyed.

Macrophomina is a type of summer root rot, and when it appears, it can cause serious yield loss. The diseased beet withers, withers, dries up and then dies, and the death of the roots progresses from the outer parts to the inside. The fungal infection spread thanks to the dry weather this year and last year, Délmagyar writes.

Growers tried to protect against the infection with fungicides and foliar fertilizers, but macrophomina proved irresistible. Harvesting is essential, even if the crop is unfit for any use. Irrigation development may be one of the solutions to the problem in the long term, but for now, producers have to deal with this dangerous fungal disease in a difficult situation.