On 10 July 1999, in the 66th year of his life, Dr István Túri, the best-known master and teacher of greenhouse vegetable production, passed away.
He was born on 7 December 1933 in Cegléd. He completed both his primary and secondary schooling in Cegléd, taking his school-leaving examination at the Kossuth Lajos Grammar School in 1952. He graduated from the College of Horticulture and Viticulture in 1957 and, from 1958, at the College of Horticulture and Viticulture and later at the University of Horticulture, he climbed the obligatory career ladder from research assistant to associate professor. Of his own free will, he requested retirement in 1993, at the age of 60.
From its foundation in 1990 he was research director of PRODUKT Kutató, Fejlesztő, Termelő Kft., and up to his death he was the intellectual leader of the breeding of pepper varieties and the seed production of the bred hybrids.
He began his scientific work under the guidance of Professor András Somos. On the basis of his 1962 dissertation on the survey and analysis of the vegetable-growing area around Nagykőrös, he was awarded the title of university doctor.
His first research task was to examine the possibility of vegetable production on poor sandy soils without organic manure. Among the technical issues, his name is associated with the horticultural use of plastics, the development of load-bearing structures for various facilities, the design of heating systems, the creation of different types of ventilation and irrigation methods, the development of several versions of double covering, the planning of heated and unheated production units and, last but not least, the water-curtain system.
Together with his colleagues, he established the mobile and stationary use of unheated facilities, as well as the single- and two-phase use of heated facilities, and he researched the possibilities of autumn and winter forcing. He also made a lasting contribution by bringing new varieties and variety types into cultivation and by introducing new cultivation techniques.
Taking the available financial resources into account, he was almost certainly the most successful Hungarian pepper breeder to date. Beyond the number (21) of his registered and filed varieties and hybrids, their practical value is proof of this. The still most popular forced white pepper in Hungary (HRF F1) also demonstrates the extraordinary sense with which he proceeded when planning individual crosses and selecting parental lines. In addition, among others, the Hó F1, Pritavit F1, Kaméleon F1, Velence F1 and Titán F1 varieties, as well as the Bajnok F1 and Kápia F1 candidate varieties, were bred under his leadership. The breeding material he and his colleagues collected is also of great significance, and it may be the guarantee for the continuation of his life’s work. Under his direction, a specific method of hybrid seed production was developed, which was granted patent protection and became the basis for the operation of the hybrid seed-producing sector.
Dr István Túri’s versatility was highlighted above all by his research in constitutional biology. He introduced the concepts of slow, medium and fast growth types, defined the conditions of their development and also the possibilities of their change. He identified very early the changes occurring in plant development. The technological modifications he proposed in such cases were in the overwhelming majority of instances confirmed by the results. Mr Túri, the teacher, lectured university students and practising horticulturists; his lectures were generally highly illustrative, laced with humour and truly captivating.
The organisation of parallel advisory services in horticulture is also associated with his name. Already in the late 1960s and early 1970s, he held training courses in Soroksár. He organised several exhibitions at the University of Horticulture. The best known were the exhibitions combined with conferences on pepper, melon and cucumber production. The seed exchange fair he conceived has been held every year since 1981 to the complete satisfaction of vegetable growers and seed trading companies.
His professional writing was characterised by his striving for clarity, and by the description and teaching of practical techniques. He published more than one hundred popularising articles, mostly in the pages of Kertészet és Szőlészet. His books on production under plastic film are also popular. “Kertészet fólia alatt” (co-author: Béla Fodor) was the first agricultural specialist book of which more than one hundred thousand copies were sold. He received a quality award for it. He was always proud of this and of the Order of Merit of Labour awarded for his life’s work.
In the last 10–15 years, his writings were also characterised by a philosophical tone. This is exemplified by his books “Növényalkat” (Potential and Limits for Increasing Yield) and “Az élet korlátai” (which summarises the human aspects of constitutional biology). He also began to write a book that ventured into the world of the spirit and the realm of the gods. He spoke about it a great deal and would very much have liked to finish it, but was no longer able to do so. When asked about his scientific work and his publications, he most often replied: “I do not underestimate the number of books, new varieties, patents, honours and academic titles, but I do not consider these the most important, so I do not concern myself with statistics. In our profession, among these and beyond them, I regard only that activity as important which advances the cause of horticulture.”
In his organisational work he needed perseverance and, at times, stubborn determination; otherwise he would not have been able to create the experimental fields of the Department of Vegetable Production. At the Soroksár Experimental Farm, many buildings, structures and plastic-covered facilities still bear witness to his tireless organising work, his quest for innovation and his wealth of ideas.
He also devoted much attention to his once large staff. For quality work he considered several requirements important: to explain, to have things written down, to ask back, to get the work done and to check it. He disliked negligence, indifference and laziness, but he appreciated the capacity to struggle and purposeful, value-creating work. He also valued and respected those colleagues who recognised something new and supported it even if they were not the first to notice it.
He often said that if he ever came into possession of an all-powerful magic wand, he would do at least three things: he would suspend plastic-covered growing facilities for one week, thus demonstrating their crucial role in the daily consumption of vegetables and fruit salads and in the use of ornamental plants; he would demonstrate the possibilities associated with enclosed spaces that we have not yet exploited; and he would “not suspend for a week but abolish for ever the disease of saying nothing with masterfully crafted phrases and sentences” – as he put it.
Like everyone else, he also had his faults and made mistakes. At such times he would say: “None of us is an angel.” He also overlooked these smaller or greater lapses and errors in his colleagues if he detected no malice or deliberate intent behind them.
When he retired, he did not hold banquets or celebrations; he said farewell in a few words and perhaps his last sentence was: “I would like to serve the cause of horticulture for a long time to come!”
Sadly, this wish of his could not be fully realised. Now he lives on only in his varieties, his writings and his intellectual legacy.
János Gyúró́s