Hungary’s maize industry is critical to its agricultural economy, with the country producing millions of tonnes of maize annually. However, over the past two decades, maize crops in Hungary have been severely impacted by pest infestations, primarily the Western Corn Rootworm (Lat. Diabrotica virgifera virgifera), and fungal infections like Fusarium ear rot.1 These issues have not only jeopardised crop yields but also significantly affected Hungary’s plant protection administration. The Western Corn Rootworm, an invasive pest species originally from North America, was first detected in Hungary in the late 1990s.2 It has since spread rapidly across maize-growing regions, becoming one of the most significant threats to maize production. In addition to pest damage, fungal infections, particularly Fusarium species, have exacerbated the problem by infecting maize kernels and leading to the production of mycotoxins, which pose a risk to both animal and human health.3 The dual threat of pests and fungal infections has required significant interventions from Hungary’s plant protection authorities, particularly the National Plant Protection Service (abbr. NPPS), which oversees pest control and disease prevention efforts.4 The NPPS was forced to implement widespread Integrated Pest Management (abbr. IPM) strategies to combat the Western Corn Rootworm. This included promoting crop rotation, the use of resistant maize hybrids, and biological control methods.5 These strategies required intensive coordination between the government, farmers, and agricultural researchers. The administrative burden of providing education and resources to farmers while ensuring compliance with IPM guidelines was considerable. While chemical pesticides have been a key tool in managing maize pests, their use is tightly regulated in Hungary, particularly under EU regulations aimed at reducing pesticide reliance. The NPPS faced challenges in balancing the need for effective pest control with compliance with stringent EU pesticide regulations. This required frequent revisions to pesticide approval processes and ongoing monitoring of pesticide residues in crops.6 Fungal infections, particularly those caused by Fusarium species, have posed additional administrative challenges. The NPPS had to coordinate with food safety authorities to monitor mycotoxin levels in maize products. According to Riba et al.,7 high levels of mycotoxins in food and animal feed products led to restrictions on their sale and export, further complicating Hungary’s agricultural trade relations. This required the plant protection administration to implement stringent mycotoxin testing protocols and educate farmers on preventive measures, such as proper irrigation and harvesting practices. As Éva Lehoczky and her co-author8 highlights managing research funding and ensuring the timely application of research findings to agricultural practice added another layer of complexity to the administration’s responsibilities. While Hungary has made strides in agricultural research, critics claim that there is insufficient funding and focus on developing resistant crop varieties or biocontrol measures to mitigate long-term risks from pests and diseases. NPPS has been criticised for its reliance on chemical pesticides to manage pests rather than investing in more sustainable, long-term solutions like biological control or resistant crop varieties.9 Moreover, the need for ongoing research and innovation to address these threats underscores the complexity of managing plant health in a rapidly changing agricultural landscape.