The activities of IPI in Eastern Europe - a short overview

- Central/Eastern Europe: low input, what output?

- The activities of IPI in Eastern Europe - a short overview

IPI cooperates with scientists in almost all the countries of Central/Eastern Europe. Information and more recent results are presented below:

Albania: 3.4 million people, 0.6 million ha agricultural land. Major crops are cereals (230,000 ha), fruit & vegetables (59,000 ha) and oil crops (47,000 ha). Fertilizer use 1999/00: N (6,000 t); P₂O₅ (5,000 t); very little potash (100 t K₂O); 42 kg/ha N+P+K, roughly a quarter of the fertilizer used in the past (1988). A workshop on potassium was conducted by IPI during October 2000 in collaboration with the Soil Fertility Institute and the Ministry of Agriculture.

Bulgaria: 8.2 million people, 6.2 million ha agricultural land. Major crops are cereals (2 million ha), oil crops, mostly sunflower (450,000 ha) and fruit & vegetables (295,000 ha). Fertilizer use: N (111,000 t); phosphate (6,000 t); potash (6,000 t); 27 kg/ha N+P+K. The current fertilizer use is only a quarter of the amount of N, 3 % of P₂O₅ and 6 % of K₂O, of that used in 1988 during the peak of pre-reform fertilizer consumption. Recent field trials showed a very good and highly profitable response of grapes to potash application. Use of potash together with magnesium resulted in extra profits of up to 1,800 Lev/ha. Crop specific leaflets in the local language, country reports and workshops in Plovdiv and Pleven complement the IPI activities in Bulgaria.

Balanced fertilization and yield and profit of grapes in Bulgaria	Balanced fertilization and yield and profit of rape seed in Czech Republic
NIKOLOVA, 2000	BAIEROVA, 2000

Czech Republic: 10.3 million people, 4.3 million ha agricultural land. Major crops are cereals (1.6 million ha), oil crops, mostly rape seed (300,000 ha) and fruit & vegetables (120,000 ha). Fertilizer use 1999/00: N (210,000 t); relatively small amounts of phosphate (35,000 t) and potash (24,000 t); 70 kg/ha N+P+K. Rape seed, which covers a large area, is an important cash crop in the Czech Republic. Rape seed yields of 2.67 t/ha are above average for Eastern Europe (2.31 t/ha) but below average for the EU-15 (3.1 t/ha; 1998 figures). IPI field trials show that there is scope to increase yield and profits. Balanced fertilization increased not only seed yield but also the quality (oil content) at the same time. The best result could be achieved when NP was balanced with both K and Mg. Additional profits of almost 25,000 Czech Koruna per ha should provide the incentive for balanced fertilization.

Balanced fertilization and yield and quality of potato in Poland	Balanced fertilization and yield and quality of sugar beet in Hungary
ROGOZINSKA, 1999	KULCSAR, 2000

Hungary: 10 million people, 6.1 million ha agricultural land. Major crops are cereals (2.9 million ha), oil crops, mostly sunflower and soybean (512,000 ha) and fruits & vegetables (352,000 ha). Fertilizer use 1999/00: N (300,000 t): relatively small amounts of phosphate (47,000 t) and potash (40,000 t); 61 kg/ha N+P+K. In the past, Hungary used about 650,000 t N, 320,000 t P₂O₅ and 450,000 t K₂O (1988). Addition of K and Mg increased seed yield of sunflower by almost 23 %. Sugar beet also responded very well to K and Mg. Beet yield, sugar content and sugar yield increased substantially, giving the grower an additional net profit of up to HUF 50,000 per ha. Leaflets in Hungarian support the promotional activities of IPI in Hungary.

Poland: 38.7 million people, 18.6 million ha agricultural land. Major crops are cereals (8.8 million ha) and potatoes (1.3 million ha). Oil crops (490,000 ha) and fruit & vegetables (510,000 ha) are also of economic importance. Fertilizer use 1999/00 is better balanced with 861,000 t N, 297,000 t P₂O₅ and 368,000 t K₂O, or 88 kg/ha N+P+K. In the pre-reform period N use was almost 70% higher, and P and K almost three times higher than today. The dominance of light textured, sandy soils implies that not only are K and Mg likely to be in short supply but that sulphur is also likely to be inadequate. Field trials showed that adding S increases tuber yields. Use of K, Mg and S in Poland can be highly rewarding bringing in additional net income of up to 570 PLZ per ha.

During May 16-17, 2000, IPI, the World Phosphate Institute, IMPHOS and the Agricultural University in Poznan-Sielinko, held an international workshop on ‘Current Problems of Balanced Fertilization in Oil Seed Rape and other Oil Crops’ (Zbilansowane nawozenie rzepaku). Speakers from Poland and the neighbouring countries discussed with about 200 participants the soil fertility problems associated with oil seed production in the region. The proceedings have been published in Polish.

Romania: 22.5 million people, 14.7 million ha agricultural land. Major crops are cereals (5.7 million ha), oil crops, mostly sunflower but also soybean (total 1.15 million ha) and fruit & vegetables (820,000 ha). Fertilizer use 1999/00 is only a fraction of what had been applied before the economic reform. N use went down from 740,000 in 1988 to currently 148,000 t, phosphate from 400,000 to 26,000 t and potash from 290,000 to a meagre 5,000 t. Farmers currently apply about 24 kg/ha N+P+K.

Balanced fertilization and maize yield at different locations in Romania
DORNEANU, 2000

IPI field trials showed that substantial yield increases could be observed on different crops when fertilized with adequate amounts of potash. In potatoes, use of potash increased tuber yield by 12%-17% on top of use of NP. This also gave an extra profit of 3-4 million Lei/ha. Also maize responded well to balanced fertilization with yield increases of up to 19%.

A major international event in Romania with participation and support of IPI was the 12th CIEC International Symposium on ‘Role of Fertilizers in Sustainable Agriculture’, August 21-22, 2000 in Suceava, Romania. Other supporters were IFA and IMPHOS. Structural problems are seen as the main obstacles to the development of Romanian agriculture. Division of former large collective farms into small-scale units, inappropriate machinery for small fields, lack of credit facilities, missed market opportunities and lack of knowledge by the ‘new’ farmers are some of the deficiencies.