My studies aim for better understanding of water flow and solute transport in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum as a crucial factor for establishing optimal protocols for farmers and decision makers. The main approach to achieve the research objectives is to raise agricultural water use efficiency using optimal irrigation and fertigation scheduling. This approach is supported by modeling (numerical and analytical), measurement and interpretation of water flow and solute transport in the soil-plant-atmosphere system.

My interest in agriculture started 28 years ago in Kibbutz Kisufim which is located in the western Negev desert. During this period I was responsible for irrigating large cotton fields. Shortly after this, I started my studies in the Faculty of Agriculture in the Hebrew University. My ambition at that stage was to have good background in soil and water sciences. I studied basic courses like physics, mathematics, chemistry, plant biology and many other courses regarding soil, plant and atmosphere. After finishing my B.Sc., I continued directly to my M.Sc. under the supervision of Prof. Uri Shani studying water flow from subsurface sources. This research was expanded into my Ph.D. (under the supervision of Prof. Uri Shani) in which plants and the atmospheric demand for water were coupled with the water source-soil system. The Ph.D. work was summarized in four manuscripts about building new experimental and quantitative techniques. Throughout the M.Sc. and Ph.D. I was a teaching assistant in several courses ranging from basic sciences as physics or physical chemistry to more professional courses regarding irrigation (Full list is in the employment history section). With these robust foundations that were established during ten years at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, I continued for my post doctoral studies at the University of Arizona with the supervising of Prof. Arthur Warrick. There I improved my modeling (analytical and numerical) skills of water flow from multidimensional sources. This work produced five more papers and numerous posters and oral presentations in various meetings. After these two years in the University of Arizona I started my tenure track position in Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Currently, my research activities focus on increasing agricultural productivity while maintaining sustainable environment. The orientation of my research is towards arid and semi-arid rural regions in general and the Israeli Negev in particular. The research involves low-input agro-techniques of furrow irrigation on the one hand, and greenhouse-protected crops of high value irrigated with high frequency drip irrigation, using the most advanced technologies on the other hand. The overall goal is to use environmental conditions typical to arid conditions (high solar radiation, low humidity, extreme day and night temperatures, wide open lands, marginal water) to improve the welfare of people live in arid environments, in both developing and developed countries.

Several facilities were built since I started my position at the Ben-Gurion University to enable my research activities. The first novel tool is an automated device that obtains accurate water and solute balances under uniform growing conditions for a large number of plants. The second is an orchard of eighty pomegranate trees that were planted in lysimeters. Half of these lysimeters are located on scales and facilitate water and salinity balances estimation. The last facility was built in the central Arava R&D in Zohar station. In this facility there are twelve large lysimeters in a greenhouse and plots that receive the same treatments as in the lysimeters. These lysimeters are also heavily equipped with water content, salinity, matric head, temperature and oxygen sensors. This facility enables semi commercial experiments with practices that are similar to regular farms.

Part of my time is devoted to improve the ability to estimate soil hydraulic properties in-situ or in the laboratory. Estimating soil hydraulic properties is essential for proper understanding and evaluation of the physical and chemical processes involved in water flow, dissolved salts and pollutants within the vadose zone. Special attention is also given for the sustainability of the agricultural activities. Investigating the transport of agricultural contaminants below the root zone and manipulating the fertigation scheduling could minimize the leachete of pollutants into ground water.