Joint International Conference on Long-term Experiments ...

SUSTAINABLE LAND-USE BASED ON WESTSIK’S CROP ROTATION
EXPERIMENT
János Lazányi
University of Debrecen Centre for Agricultural Sciences
H-4032 Debrecen Böszörményi út 138.
SUMMARY
Sustainable agriculture and land use seeks solutions for environmental, economic and
agricultural problems at the same time. The aim is to develop new production methods
which provide protection for nature. In any sustainable agricultural system, the
management of organic matter and, more widely, management of natural resources are
based on the total self-sufficiency of the farm. The entire cycle of organic matter
production and decomposition takes place within the farm boundaries. The rate of
metabolism and the organic matter cycle are characteristic features of each farm unit
and define each unit’s activity for a long time.
The increased demand for food and the change in ecological requirements on
agricultural production mean that scientists must revise commonly used traditional
principles, in order to develop alternative crop production practices. In this respect, they
must strive to adopt technologies which serve to maintain soil fertility, and, at the same
time, meet environmental protection goals. Westsik’s crop rotation experiment is an
efficient tool which provides a thorough scientific basis for solving this problem.
Westsik’s experiment models various possible methods for managing nutrients (fallow,
straw, farmyard and green manure), and assists in seeking answers to questions of the
sustainability of agricultural production.
A study of sustainability of agricultural production and the connections between
agriculture, land use and environmental quality have been initiated in developed
countries, but the difficulties in less developed countries without adequate food supply
are even more serious. The aim of this study is to examine the potential for
environmentally-friendly land use in Hungary, and to draw attention to the importance
of long-term field experiments in the study of agronomic sustainability.
Key words: Sustainable agriculture, land use, crop rotation experiment
INTRODUCTION
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present generation
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Sustainable development wants to secure higher standards of living now and for future
generations. An important recommendation of the United Nations <strong>Conference</strong> on
Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro (1992), was that individual
countries should prepare strategies and action plans to implement their part of the
agreements. Agenda 21 also lays great emphasis on the need for all sectors of society to
participate in the formation of effective national strategies for sustainable development.
The problem of agriculture is as old as agriculture itself. The core of the problem has
always been soil erosion and loss of soil fertility. Today, when energy input into
agricultural production has increased, a new aspect has been added to this problem,
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