Research Center for Irrigation and Water Management (ÖVKI)

Last modified: 02. February 2024

The Research Center for Irrigation and Water Management (ÖVKI) focuses on three strategic research areas: agricultural water management, irrigation management, and rice research. 

In agricultural water management, we are working on the adaptation techniques to extreme hydrological events (excess water, drought) caused by climate change and on the development of excess water management (assessment of excess water hazard and alternative land use by GIS-based mapping). We are also operating remote sensing techniques (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) for surveying agricultural areas (e.g., describing the hydrological status of the soil-water-plant system).

Our mission in irrigation management and rice research is to improve the Hungarian irrigation management practice, contribute to the expansion of irrigated areas, and breed abiotic stress-tolerant rice genotypes for conventional, organic, and aerobic cultivation.

We promote the water-saving and environment-friendly irrigation technologies (e.g., lysimeter studies to measure water use and nutrient uptake of crops and energy plants; irrigation scheduling; modern sensor systems; reuse of agricultural effluents for irrigation; agroforestry system development; adaptation of up-to-date irrigation methods).

MATE ÖVKI is the centre of Hungarian rice research and breeding. We are working on the breeding of new, high-yielding varieties with good quality and tolerance to temperate climatic conditions (low temperature, short duration, long day length). Besides conventional breeding, we integrate biotechnological methods into traditional breeding (DH-lines via androgenesis – isolated microspore culture) in cooperation with the Cereal Research Non-profit Co., Szeged. We are maintaining a rice gene bank of Hungarian and international varieties to support breeding and rice research at the University and other Hungarian institutes.

We will operate a Demonstration and Training Center for Irrigation Management with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture to develop the efficiency and the area of the Hungarian irrigation sector.

To achieve our goals, we are open to cooperation on national and international levels (joint research projects, development programs, extension and breeding projects). Among others, we have active collaboration in the Philippines, Chile, Laos and Thailand.

The main infrastructures for research, development, education and extension are the MATE ÖVKI Rice Research Station, MATE ÖVKI Lysimeter Station, MATE ÖVKI Irrigation Research Station, and the Radiological Research Station. We are closely cooperating with other Institute of Environmental Sciences (KÖTI) Departments and MATE Institutes in Szarvas and other Campuses.
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Lysimeter station (ÖVKI, Szarvas) 

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