Latakia - Sana
In order to alleviate the effects of the environmental disaster that afflicted both agricultural and forest lands as a result of the fires that the governorate was exposed to recently, a team of agricultural specialists and experts, in cooperation with the Directorate of Agriculture in Latakia and the Agricultural Scientific Research Center, conducted a field visit to some of the burned farms in the Belloran region and to meet farmers to introduce the scientific and practical methods and means As necessary, to limit the major damage to trees and soil together.
Dr. Mohamed Salhab, head of the Agricultural Research Center in Lattakia, revealed in a statement to the SANA Economic Bulletin that this tour aims to shed light on a set of guidelines related to how to deal with damage to fruit trees, according to their type, and to follow up the process of adherence to them on the ground in order to ensure treatment.
A number of specialists working in the Scientific Research Center spoke to the bulletin about the mechanism and methods of treatment. Dr. Fadel Al-Qayyim recommended a working mechanism to deal with olive trees through the necessity of using organic fertilizers such as nitrogen, phosphates and manure while avoiding pruning and cutting completely and waiting until the arrival of spring and stressed that the burned trees must be replaced. 1-7 years old with new plantings.
Dr. Ali Al-Khatib from the center explained that citrus fruits are characterized by their high sensitivity, and trees that have not been completely reached by fire must be supported with various fertilizers in order to encourage the growth of roots and protect them in addition to spraying them with preventive materials from fungal and bacterial diseases while the rest of the affected trees are dealt with according to the degree of their damage.
For his part, Engineer Raafat al-Bahloul, head of the Kasab Research Station, stressed the necessity of managing the soil from now until the arrival of spring, especially since it lost organic matter and is unable to absorb nutrients because it is vulnerable to erosion and erosion after losing the roots of weeds in addition to protecting and supporting it with organic materials through the cultivation of legumes and laying Municipal fermented manure, superphosphate and potash, at a distance of half a meter from the trees, to restore vital activity.
In their turn, Dr. Ammar Abbas, Dr. Samer Nasser and Eng. Bashar Tobo of the Scientific Research Center in Latakia indicated cooperation with the Remote Sensing Authority to prepare databases and maps for the soil, slopes and general geology of the area and the appropriate species for re-afforestation, especially the fire-resistant species in addition to encouraging the establishment of temporary nurseries to provide Farmers' needs for planting and monitoring the affected places continuously for at least two years.
For his part, Eng. Nawwaf Shehadeh, Assistant Director of Lattakia Agriculture stressed the importance of this tour, which includes a set of practical and scientific measures necessary to preserve fruitful and forestry trees together and restore the affected areas, through direct meetings with farmers and continuing to communicate with them to ensure the desired results.
A number of the people of the region called for an increase in the number of these activities, support and follow-up of their decisions and recommendations on the ground in a way that would benefit farmers and contribute to overcoming the damage done to plant wealth.
For his part, Haytham Al-Hajji, Head of the Plant Production Department in the Directorate of Agriculture in Lattakia, said that the Al-Hanadi nursery and a video were allocated to the distribution of citrus plants, with a number of a thousand plants and a thousand sapphires, in addition to the provision of a thousand rounded seedlings from last year, indicating that the Tishreen and March nurseries were allocated to olive plantings and the number of plantings reached 300 thousand in addition To about 150,000 seedlings round last year, and the El Sahel nursery was allocated to planting apples, pears, pomegranates, walnuts and apricots, with 260,000 seedlings.
Al-Hajji confirmed that all the plantings that were provided will be distributed free of charge, according to the statistics of damage in the villages that were exposed to fires.
Manal Ajeeb
SANA Economic Bulletin