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Pima in Israel

Cotton is one of the leading field crops in Israel.Cotton growers donot receive any government subsidies and are totally independenton all matters concerning crops planning. Each grower, according to

market conditions and in comparison with other field crops,determines each year which crop to plant and on what acreage.

Long staple cotton has been grown in Israel since the 1950's. Alllong staple cotton fields are fully irrigated with no rainfall during theentire period of growth. First rains are expected from mid- October,and by that time all the cotton is usually picked, thus avoiding anyrainfall damage.

For the first 30 years American Pima varieties were grown in Israel,however, these varieties did not attain the same high qualities inIsrael as achieved in their countries of origin, nor the same yield.

As a result, the first Pima varieties bred in Israel since 1985 was F-177 which was the only variety grown in our fields for about 15years.

Over recent years an improved variety was introduced forcommercial growth from the same breeder - PF-15, with high yieldand better qualities.In 1998 this new variety was sown on half of thefields, and from 1999 over 70 % of the Pima fields have been sownwith the PF-15.

In 2001 a new variety - P-008 has found its way to the fields. Having

improved qualities such as better 95a:strength, lower neps counts,stable staple length and less sensitivity to leaf disease, it becamethe main variety.

Classing results show that most of the cotton is grade 2,with 95% of the Israeli Pima being USDA grade 3 and

and better.

A Comparison of QualityParameters between P-008 and PF-15 Varieties______________________ VARIETY P-008 PF-15LENGTH 1-7/16 1-7/16MICRONAIRE 3.8 -4.1 3.6 - 4.1

(Ave.3.9) (Ave.3.8)HVI 38 - 40 36 - 40STRENGTH (Ave.39) (Ave.38)___________________________

Lint is HVI classed and marketed according to quality specifications -

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via international traders. HVI data is available upon request.Eachand every bale is tested for stickiness using Lintronics FiberLab.Thisprocedure is conducted formany years and the Israell cotton is considered non sticky cotton.

Israel, despite being relatively small in area, has several growth

regions with different geo-climatic conditions. The agriculturalextension service is responsible for adapting agro- techniques toeach area, so as to create the right conditions for maximum qualityand yield.All cotton is mechanically picked and long-staple cotton isroller-ginned. There are roller gins throughout the country so that thedistance from the cotton field to the gin does not play as a factor inthe decision of which variety to prefer.

All of Israel's cotton is exported, via international traders, toEuropean markets and also to Far East and South America.

Directions for Future Breeding:* Local varieties adapted to

each region.* Superior varieties with

short growth seasonswithout reducingyield.

(Such varieties are alreadyin advanced testing stages).

* Improving several fiberquality characteristics.

* Hybrid varieties(Acalpi)

with high yields andimproved qualities,consideration given insaving water andshortening the growingseason.