General info
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Climate
Israel, located in the Mediterranean basin has a typical sub-tropical climate. The rain period is between late October through March with some variations at the beginning and the end of the rain season. The rest of the year is dry. the rain fall is between 50 mm in the far south in Eilat, about 200 to 250 mm in the Northern Negev desert. In the coastal area it is about 500 to 600 mm and in the North, in the Galilee mountains, it may reach even 1000 mm. The temperatures may vary between 3 and 40 °C. The average temperature differs from the desert to the coastal and interior valleys. Snow will fall once in two to 3 years in the Jerusalem and upper Galilee mountains.

Geography
Israel has a flat coastal area. The southern area is a desert, however, the land in the northern part of the Negev is being used for agriculture, based on a water supply system carrying the water from the north. The Dead sea area is the deepest in the world, the sea level of the Dead see is 395 m below normal see level, the lowest point is around 433 m below normal sea level. A chain of mountains is located in the middle of the country, starting at the northern edge of the Negev desert towards the north up to the internal Israel valley. From the northern side of the Israel valley another chain of mountains is directed towards the north; the lower and upper Galilee Mountains. The maximum elevation of the mountains in Israel is about 800 to 1000 m. At the east side of Israel runs the Jordan River, in the Jordan Valley. Along the Jordan River there is the Galilee (Kinereth) sea, in the north, and the Dead sea in the south.

Horticulture
All aspects of horticulture can be found in Israel: Temperate fruit crops like apples, peaches, plums, pear, etc to sub-tropical and tropical tree fruit crops like grapes, olives, dates, citrus, avocado, mango, bananas, persimmon, litchi, and other exotic tree crops. All known vegetables are growing in Israel, as well as a big variety of flowers.

The main agricultural areas are along the coast and east towards the mountains, the northern Negev, the interior valleys, Jordan Valley and the Galilee and the Golan mountains. Most of the Negev desert is not fitted for agriculture. However, the drip irrigation method, which was developed in Israel, enables to develop specific agricultural spots, especially along the Arava, south of the dead sea towards Eilat. Flower culture in the country is mainly in greenhouses, these are also used in the south for vegetable growing.

Distribution of Horticulture
The main agricultural areas are along the coast and east towards the mountains, the northern Negev, the interior valleys, Jordan Valley and the Galilee and the Golan mountains. Most of the Negev desert is not fitted for agriculture. However, the drip irrigation method, which was developed in Israel, enables to develop specific agricultural spots, especially along the Arava, south of the dead sea towards Eilat. Flower culture in the country is mainly in greenhouses, these are also used in the south for vegetable growing.

Research Thrusts
The main institutions for agricultural research, in general and in Horticulture in particular, are the Volcani Center, ARO, and the Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Agricultural research is also conducted in the Ben-Gurion University in the Negev, mainly dealing with desert agriculture. There are also several satellites, experimental stations belonging to the ARO, and aqua culture research stations as well. In the Volcani Center there is the Horticulture Institute. In The Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences there is The Kennedy Liegh Centre for horticultural research within the Department of Horticulture. These days the Faculty has united the Department of Horticulture together with Agricultural Botany and the Department of Field Crops, Vegetable and Genetics, under the roof of the Institute of Agricultural Plants.

Organisations / Institutes:
Agricultural Research Organisation
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Cold Storage Research Laboratory Israel Fruit Growers Association

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