Visit from Afghanistan at the Department of Crop Production
by Jozef Polák
The climate changes influences agriculture all around the world. The Department of Crop Production of FAFR SUA in Nitra welcomed guests from Afghanistan on 22nd November 2017. Guests Assoc. Prof. Emal Sobat, head of the Department of Soil Science, and Assoc. Prof. Quadratullah Rahmati from the same department, which is part of the Faculty of Agriculture, Herat University of Afghanistan, presented new possibilities that could solve problems with lack of the soil humidity. The foreign visit was accompanied by representatives of the PEWAS company, which cooperates closely with the University of Herat. The seminar was led by prof. Ing. Vladimír Pačuta, CSc., who heads the Department of Crop Production FAFR SUA in Nitra. The seminar was attended by the department's staff and PhD students. At the beginning prof. Pačuta presented briefly the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, the Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources and the Department of Crop Production. The presentation was focused on pedagogy, scientific research and international cooperation. In the second part of the seminar, Assoc. Prof. Sobat speaking about the different climatic conditions of Afghanistan and Slovakia. In Afghanistan, it is only raining during three months of the year (November to January), with a maximum of 200 mm precipitations. That is why Afghan composition of field crops is very narrow (mainly wheat and vegetables) and different in comparison with Slovakia. The cultivation of crops in this agro-ecological conditions is very difficult and the use of irrigation is limited. For this reason, they established a partnership with the PEWAS company, which is a manufacturer of the product called AQUAHOLDER. The effect of the preparation is based on the retention of water and nutrients in the soil and its gradual releasing. Crops treated with this product are characterized by better resistance against the long-lasting drought and by better exploitation of its production potential. The effect of the preparation was tested by Afghan scientists in both laboratory and field conditions. The results of the experiments showed the foundation of product use and opened up a discussion about its application to the other crops, such as soybean, peas, sesame, or tomatoes.
