Yesterday we hosted several researchers and students from Hebrew University School of Agriculture. The group that visited us is looking at natural ways to manage tree growth and production. Currently most large agriculture is done homogenously. So a farmer might grow just oranges, or just apples. They are looking at what happens if there are different trees and plants are grown together. From what I understood, this would impact the insect population and requiring less pesticides.
It was interesting to hear that as researchers in Israel they need to consider Halacha (Jewish law). In Jewish law some plants cannot be grown together because it causes kiliyam,
So why were they at Meshek Muslow? They wanted to see what we have done and consider if they can use some of our property in their research.
At Meshek Muslow we are always trying new ways to succeed using natural methods. We have a diverse tree population so maybe that helps reduce the insect infestation. In the past we tried letting the sheep and goats roam and eat the weeds but unfortunately we weren't successful since they ate the trees. This group explained that they are trying something similar with sheep in pomegranate fields and are using fences around the trees. For us, this was too expensive but it was exciting to hear how it works.
