These days farmers need not leave matters to chance.
Israeli scientists have developed new seed varieties which are
resistant to disease, provide higher and better-quality yields,
use minimal water even in hot climates, ripen out of season and
offer longer shelf life and storage attributes.
by Simon Griver
In 1996 Israeli companies exported over $33 million of "high-tech"
seeds. Seeds for export - the most popular of which are tomatoes,
cucumbers, peppers, onions and melons - are developed by sophisticated
methods of cross-breeding and genetic engineering.
"It may take up to seven years or more to develop an appropriate
new seed," explains Menachem Gilad, former managing director
of Hazera, a large Israeli enterprise involved in the breeding
of innovative seed varieties. "But biotechnological developments
have shortened this process by up to 20 percent."
Recent developments include a variety of hybrid cotton with longer,
stronger fibers, which gives a higher yield while requiring less
water. Israel has developed naturally colored strains of cotton,
so that brown and green cotton can be grown in addition to the
regular white strains.
Seeds that are less vulnerable to disease and pests - thus minimizing
the use of pesticides - are also produced. Among these is a new
strain of chick-pea, a popular staple throughout the Arab world,
which is immune to a potentially devastating fungus blight called
asochyta.
High value-added crops such as cherry tomatoes, greenhouse tomatoes
and Galia melons which enjoy a longer shelf life have likewise
been developed. One local company is currently developing a new
strain of pepper for farmers in Spain and a special onion for
those in Thailand. Other novel Israeli developments popular for
export include smaller and seedless watermelons, a saucer-shaped
zucchini and cherry tomatoes grown in bunches like grapes.
Scientists in the Department of Field Crops and Vegetables at
the Hebrew University's Faculty of Agriculture, for example, have
manipulated the four fundamental genetic factors in the tomato
- flavor, color, shelf life and firmness - to produce tomato number
175. This prosaic-sounding tomato is popular worldwide because
it is redder and more full of flavor than any other tomato on
the market.
Israel has also pioneered new strains of fruit. Aldo Zohar of
the Israel Citrus Marketing Board explains that Israel has developed
earlier ripening Shamoutis and later ripening Valencias - meaning
that oranges can be grown virtually all year round. "We have
also developed easier-peeling and seedless varieties of oranges,"
he explains, "as well as more exotic hybrids."
These more exotic products include the Sweetie, a red-colored
cross between a grapefruit and a pomelo, which is very sweet,
juicy and low in acidity, and the limquat, a cross between a lime
and a kumquat, which makes an excellent garnish.
Dwarf fruit trees developed at the Agricultural Research Organization's
Volcani Center near Tel Aviv have myriad advantages: their size
facilitates harvesting; they have higher yields than conventional
larger trees; and their pots can be placed in freezers at night
to simulate winter conditions, enabling the production of out-of-season
produce.
Israel's climatic diversity - with Mediterranean, sub-tropical
and semi-arid regions existing in a relatively small country -
means that trial farms have maximum worldwide relevance. Moreover,
greenhouse technology means that Israel can even develop new strains
of seeds for climates not found in Israel.