• Tuesday, 29-08-2017

A Faculty Member Kadoorie Concludes a Research Visit to Davis University/California

The winner of The Distinguished Scholar Awardfor 2016 and the faculty member at the college of Agricultural Sciences and Technology at Palestine Technical University– Kadoorie, Dr. MazenSalman concluded a one yearvisit to the department of plant pathology at UC Davis / California within the framework of theArab FundFellowship Program.
During his visit, Dr. Salman conducted a number ofexperiments -which came as a compliment to several scientific studies he conducted onbacterial diseases that infectolivetrees.
Preliminaryresults of a survey study, which is considered to be the first of its kind worldwide, showed that some Palestinian olive veritieswere more resistantto bacterial infectionsin comparisonto other olivesplanted in many countries.
Bacterial isolates
During the research period, Dr. Salman developed scientific methods to isolate pathogenic bacteria from olive trees in order to study the genetic variation between different bacterial isolates. Dr. Salman was able to isolate 78 isolatesof bacteria from various olive varieties. The research demonstrated that the isolates have different genetic characteristics which may lead to different degrees of olive resistance against the disease.
It is worth mentioning in this context that the method selected to isolate the bacteria and testing its virulence,was a state of art as the method will facilitate the study of the disease development within a short period of time.
Study of Genetic Resistance of Olives
Parallel to his research onpathogenic bacteria, Dr. Salmanalso studied the genetic factors in the different olive varietiesto determine the basis of the genetic resistance/susceptibility in olive trees to bacterial infection.
Dr. Salman explained that the scientific outcomesof his research will not only be beneficial for the olive sector worldwide, but will also benefit various Palestinian groups, particularly the students of the agricultural faculties at Palestine Technical University-Kadoorie and other Palestinian universities.
The President of Kadoorie - Prof. Dr. Marwan Awartani, confirmed that the Universityhas both qualified staff and research capabilities that enable it to conduct such scientific research stressing the university's keenness to supporting scientific research in various fields, especially in agriculture.