Tag Archives: Palestine

Limestone Dust as an Abiotic Disease Factor Affecting Vegetables and Olives in Palestine

Hazem Sawalha*(1) Lamya Shalabi(1) and Anan Hussein(2) and Nasser Sholi(1)

(1). Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Sciences, Arab American University, Palestine.

(2). Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, Arab American University, Palestine.

(*Corresponding author: Dr. Hazem Sawalha. E-Mail: hazem.sawalha@aaup.edu).

Received: 28/01/2019                                Accepted: 25/03/2019

Abstract

An experiment was carried out in 2011 to study the effect of limestone dust of quarries on agricultural crops of vegetables and olive trees. The effect of such dust on vegetables including tomato and pepper plants was studied in the open fields of the Arab American University of Jenin (AAUJ). In addition, the effect of such dust was studied on olive orchards nearby quarries in Qabatya region. The Two-Sample Test of Proportions (TSTP) was used as a statistical method to analyze data obtained from the studied regions. The results showed that plant exposure to dust causes drastic negative effect on leaf surface area and productivity for both vegetable crops and olive trees. Chlorophyll content and flowering percentages of pepper plants decreased with increasing the amount of dust. Furthermore, the results revealed that long-term exposure of olive trees to dust decreases oil productivity by 55.3-84.4% and minimizes the percentage of seed maturity and germination percentages.

Keywords: Limestone dust, Olive trees, Vegetable, Palestine.

Full Paper in English: PDF

The Effect of Wild Boars on Agricultural Crops and Their Control in Salfit Governorate in Palestine

Hazem Sawalha*(1) Nasreen Tarsha(1) Anan Hussein(2) Imad Abu Al-Hassan(4)

(1). Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Arab American University, Palestine.
(2). Department of Physics, of Arts and Sciences, Arab American University, Palestine.
(3). Department of Arabic Language and Media, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Arab American University, Palestine.

(*Corresponding author: Dr. Hazem Sawalha. E-Mail: hazem.sawalha@aauj.edu).

Received: 23/11/2015                                      Accepted: 14/03/2016

Abstract

The spread of wild boars in Palestine has increased and became a serious problem affecting agriculture sector. The animals has characterized to adapting the environment, which is full of fruit trees and forest. Wild boars have a high birth rate, which enable them to multiply quickly producing large number of offsprings. A study was conducted in Salfit governorate to examine the influence of wild boars on agricultural crops, as these animals have been considered the most serious pest that threatens agriculture in this area. The study includes several areas that represent the most fertile agricultural areas in Salfit governorate. The data was collected from target areas, using questionnaire, and interviews with farmers in those areas. The results indicated that the rates of damages were much greater in olive trees, vegetable crops, and field crops in the villages of Salfit, which approached 46%, 45% and 44%, respectively. Furthermore, the maximum rate of damage in fruit trees, stone fruits and shrubs was in the city of Salfit, which achieved 36%. Studying the prevalence of wild boars throughout the year showed that the highest prevalence was in June, reaching 19.5% and the lowest was in January by 2.4%. The study showed that the most successful and applicable methods of control were the use of poisons and fences, where the percentages of using such methods were 51% and 39.5% for poisons and fences, respectively, while as using traps was much lower than other methods and their use did not exceed 4%.

Key words: Wild Boar, Agricultural crops, Control methods, Palestine, Salfit.

Full paper in Arabic: تأثير الخنازير البرية في المحاصيل الزراعية وطرق مكافحتها في محافظة سلفيت في فلسطين