The Science of Planting Olive Trees in the Desert
The Science of Planting Olive Trees in the Desert
April 23, 2012
Wadi Mashash is BGU’s experimental farm located about 20 miles south of Beer-Sheva. It is the only place in Israel where agricultural production is based solely on the collection of rare desert flood water.
“Our irrigation is like the ancient Nabataeans in which we connect runoff water,” says BGU’s Prof. Pedro Berliner who is the director of the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research and head of the olive grove project at Wadi Mashash.
Americans for Ben-Gurion University’s olive tree planting initiative got its unofficial start this winter when the Wadi Mashash area received some rainfall.
Olive trees, a staple food provider for the region, were the ideal new crop choice for the research farm, according to Berliner.
Using an innovative intercrop system, researchers will plant a row of grain between each row of olive trees.
Because of the wide breadth of their roots and branches, trees cannot be planted that close to each other, and a lot of water loss therefore occurs in the top portion of the soil, according to Berliner.
“Instead of letting that happen we developed a system in which we put plants in between the rows of trees,” he says. “These plants take up the water that would be lost to the atmosphere.”
“The research done at Wadi Mashash will bring knowledge to the world – knowledge that will help produce food, cash crops and more sustainable farming practices,” says Doron Krakow, executive vice president of American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
Read more on The Jerusalem Post Web site >>
ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.
About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.
We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.
BGU at a glance:
20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.
For all press inquiries, please contact:
James Fattal, J Cubed Communications
516.289.1496
Stories Like This
