The apple and pomegranate industries in Israel continue to develop and lead Israeli agriculture to the forefront of global agriculture. With Rosh Hashanah approaching, it is both apple and pomegranate season in Eretz Yisrael and Jewish communities around the world.

A moment before Rosh Hashanah, the Galil Development Company’s R & D branch presents the new varieties – the ‘patent varieties’, which have been tested and acclimated over years of research in experimental plots by researchers from the Galil Development Company. Researchers and breeders are constantly looking for new varieties, varieties that are suitable for changing climates and new needs, more delicious, more beautiful and more productive than existing ones.

According to the Galil Development Corporation and the Council of Plants, the crop of apples this year is 120,000 tons, with the main growth areas being the Galil and the Golan Heights.

In addition, pomegranates are being grown in Israel on an area of about 25,000 dunams (6,250 acres), mainly from the “Wonderful” type, with a production estimated at 65,000 tons – about 40% of which is destined for export to markets around the world.

Elkana Ben Yashar, Director of R & D in the North: “The R & D department of the Galil Development Company is developing acclimatization and introducing new and quality varieties from all over the world for marketing in Israel. The activity extends throughout the research farm in the north. The innovative varieties were presented to the growers, to whom we will transfer the knowledge for the future growth of the fruit in the fruit orchards in the Galil and the Golan, as part of the activity to strengthen agriculture and assist the farmers.”

The new varieties were cultivated on high quality soil substrates developed by the Tuff Merom Golan Research & Development Institute and handled by the company’s agronomist Yoni Osrowitz, so that each substrate is adapted to the needs of the different crops and climates in the different regions to create a maximum match between the composition of the growth substrates and the growth itself, thereby maximizing the growth success.

Amos Levin, vice president of agriculture development at the Galil Development Company and chairman of the apple table at the Plants Council: “Rosh Hashanah, the peak of the apple season, we have tasty, high quality, beautiful and healthy apples grown in record quantities. We are proud of innovation that brings news to industry and agriculture. Despite the heat, the quality of the apples this year is excellent, and this is juicy and tasty proof of their achievements.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)