Spotlight on Hungary
While Legume Technology has its manufacturing and R&D facilities in the United Kingdom, our products and technology go far and wide: we export to more than 30 countries through Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.
In the first of a new series, looking at our markets and distribution around the world, we spoke to ‘our man in Hungary’, Tibor Garamszegi.
Hungarian farmers have been looking for a ‘saviour’ crop for some time, following years of low purchase prices for what have traditionally been the staple crops of wheat, barley, corn, sunflower and oilseed rape.
They found it in soybeans. Demand for this important crop continues to grow globally, but also in Europe: soy consumption has increased by more than 35% since the turn of the century. Hungarian growers tuned in to the greater stability of soy prices and, consequently, we’ve seen the soybean area nearly double – from around 60,000 ha just two years ago, to 110,000 ha in 2024.
It’s not just the stable prices that have enthused our growers. Soybean cultivation demands fewer, less expensive inputs and, unlike wheat, it can be grown without requiring drying. What’s more, it’s more resistant to drought and heat stress, because the plant does well even in the absence of rainfall: it might lose a quarter of its potential yield in such conditions, but that compares favourably to corn (about half) and sunflower (about one-third). That confidence was well-placed for 2024, when the country was hit by another severe drought, with temperatures of more than 35ºC compounding the abiotic stress factors.
So, while yields are lower than last year, prices are still holding up. And of course, soy has its ‘superhero power’ – its ability to grow without nitrogen fertiliser, thanks to the sorcery of rhizobial inoculants like LIQUIFiX.
It’s no surprise, given this massive increase in the soybean area this year, that we’ve seen a significant uptick in the demand for soybean inoculants. Growers have really bought in to the concept of inoculation: they know soy is not a native plant in Hungary, and therefore most soils lack populations of the Bradyrhizobium japonicum rhizobacteria that the crop requires for its nitrogen-fixing relationship. They also see that this isn’t just talk, designed to sell a product: inoculated crops show a competitive advantage of 1-1.5t/ha compared to uninoculated crops, with a higher protein content to boot.
Most Hungarian soils lack populations of the Bradyrhizobium japonicum rhizobacteria that soybeans need to form the important nitrogen-fixing nodules, shown here.
Pleasingly, they’ve spotted the inherent quality of the LIQUIFiX product and recognise that its fair pricing represents a valuable return on investment. And having seen the value in ‘basic’ applications of LIQUIFiX, many of them are keen to find out how they can tweak its effects further. That’s why we’ve seen a growing interest in MOLYFiX: its dual-purpose function to supply essential molybdenum to the rhizobacteria, while providing phosphate to the establishing crop, is increasingly understood as a prudent input for the first phases of nodule growth, and the resulting effect on nitrogen-use efficiency. It helps that MOLYFiX is unique on the Hungarian market, but so too does the science-based support from Legume Technology: independent trials that have shown how combined applications of MOLYFiX can increase soybean yield by up to 12 per cent.
The ethos supporting Legume Technology’s product portfolio is a good match for us here at Agromerkur Ltd, where we’re the main distributor for Hungary. We’re primarily a seed merchant, supplying a range of crops – soy, wheat, triticale, barley, oats, corn, sorghum, flax, millet, mohar, buckwheat, etc. – from the Hungarian breeder Gabonakutató Nonprofit Kft.
Growers come to us for the specialist consulting system we’ve developed for soybean crops, called ‘Szójakontroll’ (Soy Control). For those who take advantage of this service, we plan everything – from soil sampling to nutrient management plans, using all the technological tools available. Crops are inspected several times during the season, monitored with NDVI images, and subjected to regular tissue testing to analyse macro-meso-micro elements. Together, the data and information collected allows us to propose recommendations and interventions as necessary.
It’s a great soybean cultivation system, using the most modern tools available. It’s one we’re very pleased to offer to our customers.