Petra
The Jordanian scientist, researcher at the University of California / Davis, Dr. Maher Al Rawahneh, succeeded in producing plants free of diseases, especially viral ones.
Dr. Al-Rawahna told the Jordan News Agency (Petra) that Jordan could be a regional center for producing plants free of viral diseases in the region.
Dr. Al-Rawahna was appointed Director of the California Agricultural Services Corporation after being selected among applicants for the job from around the world for his research achievements in the field of viral diseases of plants.
Al-Rawahna, who is visiting the Kingdom, met with a number of stakeholders in the agricultural sector and heads of universities and the National Center for Agricultural Research to transfer his experience in the United States to Jordan and benefit from it.
The total number of scientific research published by Al-Rawahna in the most prestigious international peer-reviewed journals reached 128 research papers.
Al-Rawahna was able to apply the techniques used mainly in studying the human genome to discover plant diseases, specifically viral diseases that infect grape seedlings around the world.
He pointed out that one of the most important achievements he achieved in recent years was developing new methods for detecting plant viruses and comparing them with traditional methods, and publishing them in the international journal (phytopathology), through which he demonstrated the possibility of adopting the methods he developed as an effective and reliable means of detecting viruses.
He stated that these new methods are characterized by their high accuracy and low cost compared to the traditional methods currently used to complete inspections, registration, and issuing disease-free certificates.
He pointed out that the application of this modern technology represents a wealth in the field of exchanging and examining seedlings and plant seedlings locally and internationally.
Thanks to these researches, Al-Rawahneh received the M.leetlutchnis Award, and he is the first Arab researcher to win this prestigious award since it was first granted in 1980. It is noteworthy that
Dr. Al-Rawahneh runs the California Agricultural Services Corporation, which is responsible for examining mother trees and seedlings for about 2,000 grape varieties. And 350 fruit trees, 54 varieties of sweet potatoes and 33 varieties of strawberries, in addition to being the only institution in the world specialized in producing rootstocks of pistachio trees that are resistant to diseases and drought.