SOIL CULTIVATION AND SOIL DEGRADATION IN HUNGARY - A REVIEW

In Hungary, soil degradation was recognized for the first time by the end of the 1800s. At present, soil degradation has affected about 40% of the total land used for agricultural production. As possible reason s, deforestation, change of climate and defective or ''multi-traffic'' tillage were pointed out. In the 20th century the unfavourable effect s of conventional tillage, such as soil compaction, the obvious cloddi ness, resulting from cultivation of compacted soils, and dust formatio n, due to inappropriate seedbed preparation, increased the degradation . In the history of Hungarian soil tillage, however, there were some p eriods when soil degradation was slower, soil water conservation becam e prominent and the development and use of new tillage tools enhanced soil protection. The principles of ''reasonable soil tillage'' elabora ted by the end of the 19th century, can be compared with the North-Ame rican minimum tillage efforts. The Hungarian dry farming methods, whic h were elaborated in the 1920s, can be connected with the modern soil protecting tillage. In the 1980s, the achievements of the energy savin g and soil conserving tillage gave a slight chance to stop the soil de gradation. In the 1990s, the degradation of soil physical conditions i s again in the limelight. It means, that earlier achievements were not long-lasting, and that current attitude of the farmers toward soil pr otection is primarily determined by the difficult economic conditions. At present, not the encouraging factors but those forcing to give up are in the foreground.