Fields of Scientific Interest:

• Irrigation of fruit trees.
• Modeling for consumptive use, and deficit irrigation.
• Irrigation methods, in relation to nutrient and water use efficiency.
• Saline and recycled water utilization.
• Nutrition of fruit trees :
  • Fertigation, nutrient distribution in the soil.
  • Nutrient supply and demand. Estimating requirement and correcting defficiencies.
• Foliar fertilization.
• Effect of nutrition on fruit quality, storage properties and physiological disorders.

 Current Research Objectives:

• Evaluating the use of recycled water for olive cultivation.
• Validation of an irigation model for wine grapes under high evaporative demand.
• Cultivar and rootstock selection of olive for resistance to salinity.
• Imroving persimon fruit quality by N-K nutrition.
• Evaluating the interaction between plant water status, crop level, fruit size and quality of apples and nectarines.
  

Relevant Publications: (Additional Publications)

• Klein, I. (1983). Drip irrigation in peach and grape based on soil matric potential conserves water. HortScience 18:942-944.
• Weinbaum, S.A., Klein, I., Broadbent, F.E Micke, W.C. an Muraoka, T.T. (1984). Effects of time of nitrogen application and soil texture on availability of isotopically labeled fertilizer nitrogen to reproductive and vegetative issue of mature almond trees. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 109:339-343.
• Weinbaum, S.A., Klein, I., and Moraoka. T.T. (1987). Use of nitrogen Isotope and a light-textured soil to assess annual contributions of nitrogen from soil and storage pool in mature almond trees. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. . 112:526-529.
• Klein, I., Levin, I, Bar-Yoseph, B., Assaf, R. and Berkovitz, A. (1989). Drip nitrogen fertigation of `Starking Delicious` apple trees. Plant and Soil 119:305-314.
• Klein, I., Weinbaum, S.A., DeJong, T.M. and Muraoka, T.T.. (1991). Spur light exposure as a primary external cause for derivation of DRIS norms in walnut trees. J. Plant Nutr. 14:463-484.
• Klein, I. and Weinbaum, S.A. (2000) Fertilization of temperate- zone fruit trees in warm and dry climates. In: Temperate fruit crops in warm climates. Chapter 4. (ed. Erez, A.) Kluver academic publishers b.v.
• Klein I., Striem M., Fienberstein L., Mani Y. (2000). Irrigation and fertigation effects on phosphorus and potassium nutrition of wine grapes. Vitis 39(2):55-65.
• Klein, I., Esparza, G., Weinbaum, S.A. and DeJong, T.M. (2001). Effects of irrigation deprivation during the harvest period on leaf persistence and function in mature almond trees. Tree Physiol. 21(14):1063-72.
• Klein, I. (2011). Threshold tension autonomous irrigation (TTAI) of olive controls irrigation efficiency, water use efficiency and fruit quality. Acta Hort. 888:215-222

 Former Reearch group:

• Michael Striem.
• Luba Fanberstein.
• Yair Mani.