The Experiment Station

Mission

The mission of our agricultural experiment station is to develop, advance and spread the outcomes of the experiments in order to improve the agricultural productivity, quality, marketability, profitability of agricultural production and to maintain our leading status in serving the most suitable inputs and providing convenient advices for farmers. We seek solutions through better ways of conducting things for the benefit of the agricultural sector. We remain committed to provide individualized agricultural consulting for every problem and every farmer.

History

The agricultural experiment station has been a tremendous asset to our business. That station hosted the first modern irrigation system in Lebanon as early as the 1970s. This irrigation system is still in place, even though we have introduced several changes and newer systems to it. We conduct several scientific experiments and investigations to solve problems and provide suggestions and improvements to the agricultural industry. This station is the place where we meet with farmers, faculty, students, and other suppliers. The outcome of the experiments help to inform farmers about the new developments in agriculture, and help in enriching the workshops, guidance and field trips of agricultural engineering students coming from several universities. The location, dedication to work and friendly environment in the station makes it an interesting and pleasant place to visit and conduct research. This station is directly supported by our company.

Major Focus

The outcome of the experiments conducted resolve issues of adaptability, pest problems of plants and trees, water management and several other issues related to the agriculture in that part of the world. We were among the first entities in the country to try new varieties of almond, apple, cherry, grapes, nectarine, peach, pear (Asian), pear (European), plum, seedless grapes, etc…Our station has at present more than 23 varieties of apple, more than 17 varieties of peach and nectarine, and several types of other fruits. We also focus on experimenting with several new varieties of turf, flowers and vegetables. We continuously experiment new varieties of cucumbers, eggplant, green beans, fava beans, lettuce, peas, peppers, squash, tomato, etc… Moreover, we also experiment new fertilizers (both organic and chemical), pesticides (biological and chemical), etc...In addition, we test fruit thinning and growth regulators, dwarf rootstocks for fruit trees, new pruning practices to make agricultural production more profitable.