Agriculture
Israely Economy

Israel's agricultural engineering industry is well-known for its irrigation systems. This industry also produces specially-designed machinery for the specific conditions of Israeli agriculture, including sophisticated sensors, greenhouse equipment, cladding materials, packaging systems, and management software. Agricultural engineering research is mostly application oriented and maintains close relationships with the industry for the benefit of Israeli farmers. Some examples of recent developments are described below:
- Special sensors have been developed to record plant growth-rate and determine growing needs. The use of these sensors results in significant saving in water and fertilizers, while improving production and quality.
- Special equipment and machinery for vineyards, which enable management of large vineyards with minimal labor, have been developed and commercialized. These include systems for pruning, windowing, trimming, sweeping, and spraying.

Harvesting systems for crops such as flower bulbs, potatoes and sweet potatoes, watermelons, dates,jojoba, peanuts, and chili peppers are designed and manufactured according to the special needs of Israeli agriculture. Special systems and methods for post-harvest operations such as separation of clods and stones from potatoes, weighing and sorting flower bulbs and corms according to size, hot-water washing systems for fresh produce, accurate vibrating sizers, flower bunching systems, and length sorting are widely used to improve product quality and reduce labor.

A variety of sprayers for dedicated applications are manufactured in Israel, designed for low volume, precise pesticide application. Solar soil disinfestation is widely practiced, using plastic films with special properties. An innovative technology for spray application of polymers for soil mulch purposes was developed, providing a feasible and cost-effective alternative to plastic mulch. The polymers may be applied by spraying the desired quantity to form a membrane film through which seedlings can emerge and later grow on the mulch. The membrane formed is flexible and porous, keeps its integrity on the soil surface, increases soil temperature, and reduces evaporation. In addition, mulched soil prevents the erosion and destruction of young seedlings by sandstorms. The membrane undergoes photo- and bio-degradation, resulting in its complete elimination without environmental pollution and hazards.

Automatically Guided Vehicles (AGVs), which follow an electric wire carrying a signal, are used in greenhouses for transporting crops to the packing house and returning empty containers to the pickers. A multi-purpose transportation system, which travels along a monorail mounted on the greenhouse structure, is used where conditions permit. Both systems are labor saving.