Development of new arid zone crops for the Negev Desert of Israel.

The Institutes for Applied Research of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev is continuously involved in the introduction and development of new crops for the arid and semi-arid regions of Israel. The progress achieved in eight projects is reviewed in this paper. They include perennial fodder plants for improvement of dryland pasture, selection and cultivation of halophytes with seawater irrigation, industrial crops (jojoba, buffalo gourd, evening primrose, senna), drought- and salinity-resistant ornamentals and new ornamental products for export (cut flowers, cut branches and potted plants). Several of these projects, like those on jojoba and several ornamentals, have reached the stage of commercial exploitation.-Authors