+961 8 900 047

lari@lari.gov.lb

LARI-LEB

Lebaa

Mission

Lebaa station is located in Jizzin region(South Lebanon) at an altitude of 350 m above sea level. The station belongs to Litani river authority. It occupies an area of about 6 hectares. Annual mean precipitation is about 850mm.More than 8 species of fruit trees are cultivated in Lebaa station ( Olive, apple, peach, pomegranate ,avocado, citrus, nuts, apricot,… ) .Vegetables are cultivated in both open field and greenhouse. The main conducted researches at Lebaa station aim at helping farmers to increase their agricultural production and quality. The research experiments at Lebaa station are mainly focused on plant protection, biodiversity and irrigation strategies.

Research Studies

  • Integrated pest management ( IPM).
    • Management of Tuta absoluta under greenhouse condition by using biopesticides.
    • Status ,distribution and parasitism rate of olive fruit fly parasitoids in Lebanon.
    • Surveillance and management of fruit flies in Lebanon.
    • Pest and disease forecast program (early warning)
  • Irrigation and fertilization strategies.
    • Influence of irrigation and harvesting time on the composition of olive oil from two cultivars growing in Lebanon.
    • Effect of organic mulch and irrigation frequency on the yield of Origanum syriacum.
    • Effect of nutrient fertilization time on Saffron yield in Baaklin region.(Currently conducted).
    • Management of iron deficiency in peach tree under calcareous soils.(Currently conducted)
  • Introduction into cultivation new varieties and species ( Quinoa and Saffron).
    • Saffron cultivation in Lebanon
    • Effect of corm density on saffron yield.
    • Effect of soil type on Saffron yield under homogeneous conditions.
  • Conservation of genetic resources and establishment of germplasm of local and imported species
    • Conservation and characterization of local olive varieties in Lebanon.
    • Carob trees in Lebanon, a substantial patrimony
  • Domestication of some wild plant ( Origanum Syriacum).
    • Germplasm of different ecotype of Origanum Syriacum .(Currently conducted)
    • Morphological and genetic analysis of some Origanum sp. accessions cultivated in Labaa and Hasbaya stations.(Currently conducted)
    • Vegetative propagation (Stem cuttings) of Origanum sp. by using two kinds of hormones with different doses under greenhouse conditions.(Currently conducted) .

Activities

  • Participation in the project ‘ support the bee sector in Lebanon.
  • Evaluating the performance of different queen bee in Lebaa station. .(Currently conducted)
  • Research cooperation with the Lebanese university by receiving students to implement their theses.
  • Routine maintenance of weather stations in Lebaa and Chhim .
  • Laboratory activities related to testing of water, soil and olive oil samples for farmers and companies

Staff

  • Abdel Kader El hajj – Researcher – Head of Lebaa station (ak.hajj@lari.gov.lb)
  • Soha Oleik – Laboratory technician
  • Vera Talj- Laboratory technician
  • Nour Taha - Laboratory technician.
  • Maisaa Hosein – Agricultural technician
  • Mahmoud Haris –Mechanical technician
  • Kasim Ghandour – Agricultural technician
  • Ajdi Abou El Rish - Agricultural technician

Publications

  • Management of Tuta absoluta Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) Using Biopesticides on Tomato Crop under Greenhouse Conditions ,Abdel Kader El Hajj , Helen Rizk , Mariam Gharib , Maysaa Houssein , Vera Talej , Nour Taha , Soha Aleik & Zinette Mousa, Journal of Agricultural Science; Vol. 9, No. 11; 2017 ISSN 1916-9752 E-ISSN 1916-9760.
  • Influence of Irrigation Regimes on Quality Attributes of Olive Oils from Two Varieties Growing in Lebanon. Milad El Riachy, Amany Haber, Salwa Abou Daya, Ghina Jebbawi, Ghinwa Hawi, Vera Talej, Maysaa Houssein, Abdelkader El Hajj , International Journal of Environment, Agriculture and Biotechnology (IJEAB), Vol-2, Issue-2, Mar-Apr- 2017.
  • Status ,distribution and parasitism rate of olive fruit fly (Bactrocera oleae) natural enemies in Lebanon. El hajj Abdul kader, Nabil Nemr, Samer Hajj Chhadeh,Faten Dandach, Zinnet Moussa.Journal of agricultural studies, ISSN 2166-0379.2018 ,Vol.6,No.1.
  • Assessment of Ancient Carob Germplasm of Lebanon by Morphological Traits M. Chami, A. Hajj, J. Kahwaji, H. Youssef, S.Ghaith, L. Fakih, M. Smaha, R. Nabbout, M. El Raichy, F. As-Sadi, M. Al Zein, F. J. Ruiz Gomez, G. Palacios- Rodriguez, R. Navarro- Cerillo, J. Tous, L. Chalak Journal of the American Pomological Society(J Am Pom Soc) Volume 72 Number 4 Article 6 Pages:260-278 Year 2018
  • Yield of Saffron (Crocus sativus) Under Different Corm Densities. Abdel Kader El Hajj1, Sally Moustafa2, Soha Oleik1, Vera Telj1, Nour Taha1, Hanaa Chehabeldine3. & Tamim El Tachach3. ISSN 1916-9752 E-ISSN 1916-976. Journal of Agricultural Science; Vol. 11, No. 8; 2019.
  • Effect of Pine Needle Mulch and Irrigation Frequency on the Yield of Origanum syriacum under Open Field Condition. El Hajj Abdel Kader1*, Marwa Nakhle2, Vera Talj1, Nour Taha1, Soha Oleik1, Maisaa Housein1 and Helen Rizk2. European Journal of Medicinal Plants .26(4): 1-8, 2018; Article no.EJMP.47789 ISSN: 2231-0894, NLM ID: 101583475.
  • Citrus production in Lebanon-Pre-Feasibility Study of IPM of Citrus. Zinette Mousa,Abdel kader El-Hajj The paper was presented within the training course “Advances in integrated pest management of Mediterranean fruit tree crop” held at Mediterranean Institute of Bari, Bari ,Italy, 2010.

Symposium

  • Abdel Kader EL HAJJ 1 *, Soha OLEIK 1 , Oxana BAGHDADI 2 , Nour TAHA 1 , Vera TALJ 1 , Hanaa CHEHABELDEIN 3 , Tamim ELTAKISH 3 . X internatonal agricultural Symposium ‘Agrosym 2019’. Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2019.
  • Morphological characterization of olive trees cultivated in Lebanon L. Chalak 1,2* , A. Chehade 2 , A. Elbitar 2 , H. Youssef 2 , R. Nabbout 2 , M. Smaha 2 , A.K. Haj 2 , B. Hamadeh 2 , A. Awada 2 , G. Bouaram 2 , M. Selman 2 , A. Bassal 1 , F. Famiani 3 , N. Dubla 4 ,ISHS, VII international symposium on olive growing, San Juan(Argentina),2012.
  • Assessment of the genetic diversity and structure of the Lebanese olive varieties. L. Chalak 1,2* , H. Haouane 3,4 , B. Khadari 4,5 , A. Chehade 2 , A. Elbitar 2 , B. Hamadeh 2 , H. Youssef 2 , R. Nabbout 2 , M. Smaha 2 , A.K. Haj 2 and A. Bassal 1 ,ISHS, VII international symposium on olive growing, San Juan (Argentina),2012.
  • Carob trees in Lebanon, substantial patrimony. Dr.Lamis Chalak, ,Ms.Hiyam Youssef,Ms.Rania Nabbout,Ms.Maha Smaha, Ms.Samaher Ghaith,Ms.Layla Fakih. Dr.Abdel Kader El-hajj International symposium on carob: a neglected species with genetic resources for multifunctional uses,symposium nr 574, abstract nr 6,Antalya Turkey , 3-8 May 2017.
  • Preliminary oil quality
  • Preliminary assessment of ancient carob trees in Lebanon, Presenting Author: Prof. Lamis Chalak ,Co-Author(s): Mr. Mohamad Ali El Chami , Dr. Abdel Kader Hajj , Ms. Hiyam Youssef Ms. Samaher Ghaith , Ms. Layla Fakih , Ms. Rania Nabbout , Ms. Maha Samaha , Mr. Joseph Kahwaji , Dr. Milad El Riachy ,Dr. Falah As-sadi , Mr. Mohammad S Al-Zein , Dr. Francisco J Ruiz-Gomez , Prof. Guillermo Palacios-Rodriguez , Prof. Rafael M Navarro-Cerrillo , Dr. Joan Tous , International Symposium on Carob: a Neglected Species with Genetic Resources for Multifunctional Uses,ISHS,Istanbul 2018.