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Environmental Physics and Irrigation
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| Remote sensing models for irrigation and fertilization in precision agriculture and soil sciences. |
Using satellite and UAV remote sensing to model crop water use against evapotranspiration measurements from an eddy covariance tower. Remote sensing modeling of surface energy balance and evapotranspiration. Meteorological modeling of evapotranspiration. Improving land surface temperature retrieval for global agro-drought monitoring. The use of SAR interferometry for soil degradation studies.
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| Irrigation of protected crops during their initial growth using dynamic evapotranspiration estimates and its effect on yield |
Most estimates of ET are based on the FAO56 implementation of the Penman-Monteith combination equation which adopted the big-leaf approach, meaning that plant foliage fully covers the ground area. In agricultural cultivation of row crops and especially for plants during their initial growth stages, only part of the ground area is covered by the plants, and evaporation from wet soil may be significant. The goal of this research is to examine several models that are capable of partitioning ET into plant transpiration and soil evaporation in greenhouses; to identify the model with the highest agreement with measurements for each plant development stage, and develop irrigation recommendations for greenhouse crops based on measured internal meteorological conditions.
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Soil Chemistry
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| MINZ DROR |
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Team:The group consists post-docs, PhD and MSc students. Project may be in collaboration with Dr. Eddie Cytryn |
| Plant-Microbe interactions |
We are studying the plant microbial ecology. Some of the studies are strictly ecological and others use the acquired ecological knowledge for applications such as plant growth promotion, plant protection and plant nutrition. we work on agricultural plants such as cereals, tomato, banana and on model plants such as Arabidopsis and Brachipodium.
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| Biochar in Optimized Cacao Seedling Nursery Media |
Most cacao in the world is produced in smallholder farms that are in desperate need of rejuvenation, as many of the plantings are old and non-productive due to diseases and pests. An important part of this rejuvenation is new plantings. The objective of this project, which is a part of a larger integrated initiative addressing cacao production intensification, is to design nursery media best-suited for cocoa seedling development, having ideal water potential and ideal air content. In addition, an optimal level of biochar in nursery growing medium will be determined. Biochar helps induce plant system-wide defenses against soilborne and foliar pathogens.
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| Increasing Pollinator Visits to Cacao Flowers |
It is generally accepted that lack of pollination is one of the factors limiting cocoa productivity. Most of the pollination is believed to be carried out by small biting flies (midges) of the family Ceratopogonidae and the genus Forcipomyia. We suggest an approach to improve pollination in the field based on the adult pollinator requirements for sugars to complete their normal development. Additionally, we will test their attraction to preferred scents, cacao flower volatile compounds (which will be characterized by GC/MS), and known attractive lures. Other methods to improve pollination will be tested as well.
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| Updated on: 17/07/19 12:37 |
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