Traditional horticultural methods no longer effective,
official warns 

The director-general of the tropical and semi-tropical
fruits office of Iran’s Agriculture Ministry warned against the use of
traditional horticultural methods due to climate changes and rising air
temperatures, noting that modern horticulture methods need to be employed. 

Due to climate changes and increasing air temperature in the
country, traditional management and methods of production in tropical and
subtropical gardens are no longer the answer, and modern horticultural
technologies and methods should be used, Zahra Jalili-Moqaddam said in remarks
last week. 

“Iran currently ranks third in date
and pomegranate production, fourth in kiwi production, fifth in fig production,
and seventh in citrus fruits in the world, and efforts must be made to maintain
these ranks,” she said. 

Jalili-Moqaddam added that it is imperative that the Ministry
of Agriculture pilot new methods in tropical and subtropical gardens and reduce
rising air temperatures.

Currently, orchards are the most important center of
production of agricultural products for export in Iran, and horticulture is the
most central sector in the country’s agricultural export.

Therefore, the implementation of the orchard reform plan of
the Agriculture Ministry, which is effective in the quality of production and
the increase of gardeners’ income, plays a noticeable part in the export of
garden products.

In this due, the development of horticulture, improvement of
gardens, development of dense cultivation to increase yield per unit area, use
of modern irrigation systems, use of canopy to reduce risks in the horticulture
sector, and increase the quality of produced products are among the most
important programs in progress in the field of horticulture in the country.

The Ministry of Agriculture has also conducted negotiations
with companies that manufacture tools, equipment, and tractors for the
development of mechanization in the field of horticulture in order to improve
the mechanization factor in this field.