Cut-Flower and Flowering Pot-Plant Production

Ornamental Horticulture for Landscaping, Gardening and Ecological Restoration

Introduction and Development of New Ornamental Crops

Market and Trade

CeFAR DB (pilot)

The production and use of ornamental plants in regions with warm climates has become important during the past few decades, and is expanding because of several economic and cultural reasons: globalization of the horticultural international trade, transfer of knowledge, economic growth, and relatively cheap land and low labor costs in the developing countries. With the development of landscape architecture and private gardening in warm-climate regions, ornamental horticulture and floriculture has become an important part of life in the southern areas of the U.S.A. and Europe, as well as in Asian countries and Australia.

Ornamental plants are utilized for various purposes, including landscaping, ecological restoration, private gardening, and commercial production of flowers and potted plants. For all of these purposes, commercial production of good-quality propagation material is a necessary condition. Ornamental species without chilling requirements, originating from subtropical and arid regions, appear to be most suitable for commercial production of ornamental crops in warm-climate areas, although thermo-periodic species might also be grown successfully. Moreover, the potential is evident for commercial flower production in warm regions, where relatively high winter temperatures and high light intensity are suitable for flower development. Cut flowers and potted plants can be produced in these areas during the off-season of the cooler countries, and shipped to the international markets.

Being a significant center of ornamental horticulture, Israel invests considerable efforts in the development of flower crops suitable for cultivation under warm conditions, as well as in the development of new technologies for crop cultivation, storage and transportation. Traditionally, Israel has combined a modern scientific approach and collaboration with leading scientific centers in Europe and the U.S.A., with emphasis on Mediterranean, semi-arid, and arid climates. The development of ornamental horticulture as one of the central elements of the agricultural industry and environmental policy in Israel serves as a good example of the development of special strategies for warm climates.

The Center for Floriculture in Arid Regions (CeFAR) was created to serve the international horticultural community in the area of introduction, research and development of ornamental crops in countries with semi-arid, arid and Mediterranean climates. In this field, we hope to collaborate with worldwide centers for new crop development, genebanks and botanical gardens, universities and research institutes in warm areas, as well as with private companies, dealing with ornamental horticulture in these regions.

The objectives of the Israeli Center for Floriculture in Arid Regions:

1. The improvement of existing crops, suitable for warm climates. The development of quality products has to fulfill the expectations of consumers regarding quality and environmentally sustainable production.
2. Promotion of new horticultural uses for existing and well-known varieties, and the extension of their areas of production. The transfer of knowledge and the development of a scientific and technical basis is necessary for progress towards new, environmentally friendly and economically viable systems in the new warm-climate production areas.
3. Research on potentially useful new species and their development as new commercial crops and novel products.

Goals of the Center for Floriculture in Arid Regions:

1. Providing a professional basis for scientific collaboration on perennial ornamental crops (herbaceous, woody and geophytes) cultivation under warm-climate conditions.
2. Gathering of existing information and identifying the gaps in scientific knowledge
3. Identifying, establishing and maintaining partnerships with scientific organizations and alliances with private companies in Israel and abroad.
4. Encourage the sustainable use of native flora of warm-climate regions for ornamental purposes.

Priorities of the Center for Floriculture in Arid Regions:

1. Creation of a database on ornamental crops suitable for utilization under warm-climate conditions, including data on developmental biology, flowering and dormancy, production and propagation systems, stress tolerance and biotechnology
2. Introduction and evaluation of new ornamental species:
   • Collection and evaluation of new potential species for their development into various marketable commodities.
     MSc. Sima Kagan
   • Development of production, propagation systems and biotechnological tools for prospective species and their introduction to the horticultural industry. -
     Dr. Moshe Reuveni
     Dr. Rina Kamenetsky
     Dr. Avner Cohen
     Dr. Dalia Evenor
     Ms. Amalia Barzilay
     MSc. Dorit Sandler-Ziv
3. Maintaining soil health and fertility under arid and semi-arid conditions, using ecologically beneficial methods
   Dr. Michael Raviv
4. Plant development and plant adaptation to water, heat and salt stresses under warm-climate conditions
   • Study of flowering and dormancy processes and development of efficient protocols for plant production and propagation
     Dr. Nakdimon Umiel
     Dr. Einat Sadot
     Dr. Rina Kamenetsky
     Dr. Avner Cohen
     Ms. Amalia Barzilay
     MSc Dorit Sandler-Ziv
   • Identification and enhancement of pigmentation of flowers and leaves under high temperature conditions
     Dr. Michal Oren-Shamir
   • Study and development of molecular markers for warm-climate adaptations,
     as a tool to select and breed warm climate species and cultivars.
     Dr. Iris Yedidia
   • Cloning and characterization of miRNAs that are involved in the regulation
     of drought and salt stress and their mRNA targets
     Dr. Tzahi Arazi