Agricultural land experiments in international cooperation

Researchers presented the latest scientific results of the Horizon 2020-InnoVar project to support the efficiency of European plant cultivation and variety certification, at the Department of the Nyíregyháza Research Institute of the University of Debrecen's Agricultural Research Institutes and Teaching Institutions. In the program launched in 2019, the University of Debrecen cooperates with 21 consortium partners to develop innovative test methods that help growers to select varieties.

During the program's comprehensive experiments, the researchers conduct DUS and/or VCU tests on 347 winter wheat and 254 durum wheat varieties at 15 locations in 5 agro-climatic zones. In addition to the field performance tests, molecular genetic tests are also carried out. Experts also process the soil and climate data of the experimental field sites.

- The research results significantly contribute to the creation of the list of varieties offered. In the program, the applicability of the methods tested on wheat varieties to other plant species, such as potatoes, corn, alfalfa species, is also being investigated - said Nóra Drienyovskzki Mendlerné, head of the Plant Breeding and Technology Development Department of the Nyíregyháza Research Institute (NYKI) of the University of Debrecen's Agricultural Research Institutes and Teaching Institutions (AKIT), institutional manager of the InnoVar project.


Within the framework of the InnoVar project, UD's research institute conducts performance tests (VCU). (VCU: Value for Cultivation and Use)

- We have been testing almost 43 durum wheat and 30 winter wheat varieties in the framework of the project for three years now, using traditional and organic cultivation technology methods. Based on the results of previous years, we started another experiment in the growing season of 2023, in which we tested the response of the durum wheat varieties examined so far to nutrient content. The results provide new valuable information in the compilation of the list of varieties - Katalin Magyarné Tábori, senior scientific associate of NYKI pointed out.

The results and experience of the project so far were presented in four sections by the consortium partners at the Nyíregyházi Research Institute. At the scientific conference, László Zsombik, the director of NYKI, presented the institute's activities, and then Tibor Aranyos, a scientific associate, gave a presentation on the soil characteristics of the landscape.

- The conference provided an excellent opportunity for experts, young researchers and PhD students, who are present at the consortium in large numbers, to exchange experience. At the two-day professional meeting, the possibilities of processing and communicating the obtained results were discussed in workshops, added Nóra Drienyovskzki Mendlerné.

In addition to the field experiments, the DE AKIT Research Institute in Nyíregyháza also plays a significant role in the international program, in several working groups, in other activities related to the realization of the short- and long-term objectives of the project. The InnoVar („Next generation variety testing for improved cropping on European farmland” –N.818144 project is implemented with the support of the European Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program.

Press center – ÉE