ALON BEN-GAL
bengal@agri.gov.il
ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSICS AND IRRIGATION. AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH ORGANIZATION
GILAT RESEARCH CENTER. MOBILE POST NEGEV 85280, ISRAEL
RESEARCH INTERESTS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE
Plant response to environmental stress conditions. Irrigation of crops. Agricultural utilization of saline water and
of recycled wastewater. Optimization of water under irrigation in arid regions. Flow and transport of water and
solutes in the vadose zone.
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel 2003
M.Sc. Soil, Environmental Science, Cum Laude
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel 1994
B.Sc. Agrarian Studies: Soil and Water Science, Cum Laude
The University of California, Davis, CA. 1985
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2009-2010
2007 -
2004 - 2007
2002 - 2004
2001- 2002
1994 - 2001
1992 - 1994
1990 - 1991
1987 - 1990
Visiting Scientist. Soil Physics, Ecohydrology and Groundwater Management Group,
Wageningen University, the Netherlands.
Senior Research Scientist. Agricultural Research Organization, Gilat Research
Center. Department of Environmental Physics and Irrigation, Institute of Soil Water
and Environmental Sciences.
Research Scientist (Environmental Physics and Irrigation). Gilat Research Center.
Agricultural Research Organization, Israel
Research Scientist (Agricultural Water Use Efficiency). Arava Research and
Development, Yotvata, Israel
Post-doctoral fellowship (Soil Science). Utah State University. Logan, UT
Research Assistant. Arava Research and Development
Research Assistant. National Center for Mariculture. Eilat, Israel
Research Technician. Arava Research and Development
Irrigation Manager. Kibbutz Ketura, Israel
PUBLICATIONS (REVIEWED)
1. Veste, M., Ben-Gal, A., Breckle, S.-W. & Shani, U. (2000) Impact of thermal stress and high VPD
on gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence of Citrus grandis under desert conditions, Acta
Horticulturae 531:143-149.
2. Ben-Gal A and Shani U. (2002) A highly conductive drainage extension to control the lower
boundary condition of lysimeters. Plant and Soil, 239:9-17.
3. Ben-Gal A and Shani U (2002) Yield, transpiration and growth of tomatoes under combined excess
boron and salinity stress. Plant and Soil, 247:211-221.
4. Ben-Gal A., Karlberg L., Jansson P-E and Shani U. (2003). Temporal robustness of linear
relationships between production and transpiration. Plant and Soil, 251: 211-218.
5. Ben-Gal A and Dudley L (2003) Phosphorus availability under continuous point-source irrigation.
Soil Sci Soc Am J. 67: 1449-1456.
6. Shenker M, Ben-Gal A and Shani U (2003) Sweet corn response to combined nitrogen and salinity
environmental stresses. Plant and Soil 256:139-147.
7. Ben-Gal A and Shani U (2003) Water Use and Yield of Tomatoes under combined excess boron
and water stress. Plant and Soil, 256:179-186.
8. Ben-Gal A, Lazorovitch N and Shani U (2004) Subsurface drip irrigation in gravel filled cavities.
The Vadose Zone Journal. 3:1407-1413.
9. Shani U and Ben-Gal A. (2005) Long-term response of grapevines to salinity: osmotic effects and
ion toxicity. Am. J. Enol. Vit. 56:148-154.
10. Shani U., Ben-Gal A., and Dudley L. (2005) Environmental implications of adopting a dominant
factor approach to salinity management. J. Envir. Qual. 34: 1455-1460.
11. Karlberg, L., Ben-Gal, A., Jansson, P-E. and Shani, U. (2006) Modelling transpiration and growth
in salinity-stressed tomato under different climatic conditions. Ecological Modelling, 190. 15-40.
12. Lazarovitch, N., Ben-Gal A., and Shani U. (2006) An automated rotating lysimeter system for
greenhouse evapotranspiration studies. Vadose Zone Journal. 5:801-804.
13. Segal, E., Ben-Gal, A., and Shani U. (2006) Root water uptake efficiency under ultra-high
irrigation frequency. Plant and Soil. 282:333-341.
14. Yermiyahu, U., Ben-Gal, A. and Sarig, P. (2006). Boron toxicity in grapevines. HortScience.
41:1698-1703.
c.v. Alon Ben-Gal
1
15. Lazarovitch, N., Ben-Gal A., Simunek J. and Shani U. (2007) Uniqueness of soil hydraulic
parameters determined by a combined wooding-inverse approach. Soil Science Society of America
Journal. 71, 860-865
16. Ben-Gal, A. (2007) The contribution of foliar exposure to boron toxicity. Journal of Plant
Nutrition, 30, 1705-1716.
17. Yermiyahu U., Ben-Gal, A., Sarig, P., and Zippilevitch E. (2007) Boron toxicity in grapevine (Vitis
vinifera L.) in conjunction with salinity and rootstock effects. J. of Hortic. Sci. and Biotech. 82,
547-554.
18.Tripler E, Ben-Gal A., Shani U. (2007) Consequence of salinity and excess boron on growth,
evapotranspiration and ion uptake in date palm (Phoenix Dactylifera L., cv. Medjool). Plant and
Soil. 297,147-155.
19. Shani, U., Ben-Gal, A. Tripler E. and Dudley, L.M. (2007) Plant response to the soil environment:
an analytical model integrating yield, water, soil type and salinity. Water Resources Res. Vol. 43,
W08418, 10.1029/2006WR005313
19* Shani, U., Ben-Gal, A., Tripler, E. and Dudley L. M. (2009) Correction to “Plant response to the soil
environment: An analytical model integrating yield, water, soil type, and salinity”, Water Res. Res.,
45, W05701, doi:10.1029/2009WR008094.
20. Yermiyahu U., Tal A., Ben-Gal A., Bar-Tal, A., Tarchitzky J. and Lahav, O. (2007) Rethinking
desalinated water quality and agriculture, Science, 318, 920-921.
21. Yermiyahu U., Ben-Gal A., Keren R. and Reid R.J. (2008). Combined effect of salinity and excess
boron on plant growth and yield. Plant and Soil, 304, pp. 73-87.
22. Ben-Gal A, Ityel E, Dudley L., Cohen S, Yermiyahu U, Presnov E, Zigmond L, Shani U. (2008)
Effect of irrigation water salinity on transpiration and on leaching requirements: A case study for
bell peppers. Agric. Water Manag. 95, 587-597.
23. Dudley L., Ben-Gal A. and Shani U. (2008) Influence of plant, soil and water properties on the
leaching fraction. Vadose Zone J. 7, 420-425.
24. Bar-Tal, A. Yermiyahu, U., Keinan, M., Faingold, I., and Ben-Gal, A. (2008) Boron deficiency and
toxicity in young persimmon (Diospyrus kaki L.). J. of Hortic. Sci. and Biotech. 83, 469-473.
25. Ben-Gal, A., Dag, A., Yermiyahu, U., Zipori Y., Presnov, E., Faingold, I. and Kerem, Z. (2008)
Evaluation of irrigation levels in a converted, rain fed olive orchard: the transition year. Acta
Horticulturae. 792, 99-106.
26. Ben-Gal, A., Yermiyahu, U., Veste, M. and Shani, U. (2008) Irrigating table grapes in arid regions
with low quality water: effects of salinity and excess boron. Acta Horticulturae. 792, 107-114.
27. Dag, A. Ben-Gal A., Yermiyahu U., Basheer L., Yogev N., and Kerem Z. (2008) The effect of
irrigation level and harvest mechanization on virgin olive oil quality in a traditional rain-fed “Souri”
olive orchard converted to irrigation. J. Science Food Agric. 88, 1524-1528.
28. Gross, A., Bernstein, A., Vulkan, R., Tarchitzky., J., Ben-Gal, A., and Yermiyahu, U., (2008)
Simple digestion procedure followed by the azomethine-H method for accurate boron analysis and
discrimination between its fractions in wastewater and soils. Chemosphere. 72, 400-406.
29. Erel R. Dag A Ben-Gal A Schwartz A and Yermiyahu U Flowering and fruit-set of young olive
(Olea europea L. cv. Barnea) trees in response to nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. (2008) J
Am Soc Hort Sci 133, 639-647.
30. Dudley, L.M., Ben-Gal, A. and Lazarovitch, N. (2008) Drainage water reuse: biological,
physical, and technological considerations for system management. Journal of Environmental
Quality. 37, S25-S35.
31. Ben-Gal A. Yermiyahu U. and Cohen S. (2009) Fertilization and blending alternatives for irrigation
with desalinated water. J Environ Qual 38:529-536.
32. Ben-Gal A, Neori-Borochov H, Yermiyahu U and Shani U. (2009) Is osmotic potential a more
appropriate property than electrical conductivity for evaluating whole plant response to salinity?
Environ Exp Botany. 65, 232-237.
33. Ben-Gal A, Agam N, Alchanatis V, Cohen Y, Zipori I, Presnov E, Yermiyahu U, Sprintsin M, and
Dag A. (2009) Evaluating water stress in irrigated olives: correlation of soil water status, tree
water status and thermal imagery. Irrigation Science. 27, 367-376.
34. Dag A, Yermiyahu U, Ben-Gal A, Zipori I, and Kapulnik Y. (2009) Nursery and post-transplant
field response of olive trees to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi under arid conditions. Crop and
Pasture Science. 60, 427-433.
35. Dag A, Ben-David E, Kerem Z, Ben-Gal A, Erel R, Basheer L, and Yermiyahu U. (2009) Olive Oil
Composition as a Function of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium Plant Nutrition. Journal of the
Science of Food and Agriculture. 89, 1871-1878.
36. Ben-Gal A, Kool D, Agam N, van Helsema G, Yermiyahu U, Yafe A, Presnov E, Erel R, Majdo A,
Zipori I, Segal E, Rüger S, Zimmermann U, Cohen Y, Alchanatis V, Dag A. (2010) Whole-tree
water balance and indicators for short-term drought stress in non-bearing ‘Barnea’ olives. Agric.
Water Manag. 98, 124-133.
c.v. Alon Ben-Gal
2
37. Ityel E., Lazarovitch N., Silberbush, M., and Ben-Gal A. (2011) An artificial capillary barrier to
improve root zone conditions for horticultural crops: physical effects on water content. Irrigation
Sci. 29, 171-180.
38. Ben-Gal A, Yermiyahu U, Zipori I, Presnov E, Hanoch E, and Dag A. (2011) The influence of
bearing cycles on olive oil production response to irrigation. Irrigation Sci. 29, 253-263.
93. Segal E, Dag A, Ben-Gal A, Zipori A, Erel R, Suryanob S and Yermiyahu U, (2011) Olive orchard
irrigation with reclaimed wastewater: agronomic and environmental considerations. Agriculture,
Ecosystems and Environment, 40, 454-461.
40. Tripler E, Shani U, Mualem Y and Ben-Gal A. (2011) Long-term growth, water consumption and
yield of date palm as a function of salinity. Agric. Water Manage. 99, 128-134.
41. Ben-Gal, A., Dag, A., Basheer, L., Yermiyahu, U., Zipori, I., Kerem, Z. (2011) The influence of
bearing cycles on olive oil quality response to irrigation. Journal of Agricultural and Food
Chemistry, 59, 11667–11675.
42. Ityel E., Lazarovitch N., Silberbush, M., and Ben-Gal A. (2012) An artificial capillary barrier to
improve root zone conditions for horticultural crops: response of pepper, lettuce, melon and
tomato. Irrigation Science. 30, 293-301.
43. Aviani, I., Raviv, M. Saadi, I. Hadar, Y. Dag, A. Ben-Gal, A. Yermiyahu, U. Zipori, I. Laor. Y.
(2012) Effects of harvest date, irrigation level, cultivar type and fruit water content on olive mill
wastewater generated by a laboratory scale 'Abencor' milling system. Bioresource Technolog. 107,
86-96.
44. Ityel E., Lazarovitch N., Silberbush, M., and Ben-Gal A. (2012) An artificial capillary barrier to
improve root-zone conditions for horticultural crops: response of pepper plants to matric head and
irrigation water salinity. Agric. Water Manag. 105, 13-20.
45. Dag, A., Erel, R., Ben-Gal, A., Zipori, I., Yermiyahu, U. (2012) The effect of olive tree stock plant
nutritional status on propagation rates. HortScience, 47, 307-310.
46. Tripler E., Shani, U., Ben-Gal A., and Mualem Y. (2012) Apparent steady state conditions in high
resolution weighing-drainage lysimeters containing date palms grown under different salinities.
Agric Water Manag. 107, 66-73.
47. Shi, J., Ben-Gal A., Yermiyahu U., Wang, L., Zuo, Q. (2013) Characterizing root nitrogen uptake
of wheat to simulate soil nitrogen dynamics. Plant and Soil, 363:139–155.
48. Naor, A., Schneider, D., Ben-Gal A., Dag, A., Zipori, I., Kerem, Z., Birger, R., Peres, M., Gal, Y.
(2013) The effects of crop load and irrigation rate in the oil accumulation stage on oil yield and
water relations of field-grown ‘Koroneiki’ olives. Irrigation Science, 31, 781-791.
49. Agam N., Cohen Y., Alchanatis V., Ben-Gal A. (2013) How sensitive is the CWSI to changes in
solar radiation? International Journal of Remote Sensing. 34, 6109-6120.
50. Agam N., Cohen Y., Alchanatis V., Berni J.A.J., Kool D., Dag A., Yermiyahu U., Ben-Gal A. (2013).
An insight to the performance of crop water stress index for olive trees. Agric Water Manage.
118,79-86.
51. Bustan, A., Avnia, A., Yermiyahu, U., Ben-Gal, A., Riov, J., Erel, R., Zipori, I, and Dag, A. (2013)
Interactions between fruit load and macro-element concentrations in fertigated olive (Olea
europaea L.) trees under arid saline conditions. Scientia Horticulturae. 152, 44-55.
52. Groenveld, T. Ben-Gal A., Yermiyahu, U., Lazarovitch, N. (2013). Weather determined relative
sensitivity of plants to salinity: quantification and simulation. Vadose Zone J. in press.
doi:10.2136/vzj2012.0180
53. Ben-Gal, A, Weikard, H-P, Shah SH, van der Zee S. (2013) A coupled agronomic-economic model
to consider allocation of brackish irrigation water. Water Resour. Res. 49, doi:
10.1002/wrcr.20258.
54. Holland, S., Heitman, J.L., Howard, A., Sauer, T.J., Giese, W., Ben-Gal, A., Agam, N., Kool, D.,
and Havlin J. (2013) Micro-Bowen ratio systems for measuring evapotranspiration in a vineyard
inter-row. Agric Forest Meteorology. 177, 93-100.
55. Erel R., Yermiyahu U., van Opstal J., Ben-Gal A., Schwartz A., Dag A. (2013) The importance of
olive (Olea europaea L.) tree nutritional status on its productivity. Scientia Horticulturae. 159, 8-18.
56. Yasour H., Beit-Yannai E, Ben-Gal A., Cohen S., Yermiyahu U. (2013) Nitrogen Use Efficiency in
Greenhouse Bell Pepper: Agronomic and Environmental Implications. HortScience, 48, 1241-1249.
57. Agam, N., Segal, E., Peeters, A., Dag, A., Yermiyahu U., Ben-Gal, A. (2013) Spatial distribution of
water status in irrigated olive orchard by thermal imaging. Precision Agriculture.
doi.org/10.1007/s11119-013-9331-8.
58. Kool, D., Agam, N., Heitman, JL., Lazarovitch, N., Sauer, TJ. and Ben-Gal, A. (2014) A review of
approaches for evapotranspiration partitioning. Agric Forest Meteorology, 184, 56-70.
59. Ityel E., Ben-Gal A., Silberbush, M., and Lazarovitch N. (2014) Root zone oxygen level in irrigated
arid region horticulture can be artificially raised by a capillary barrier. Agricultural Water
Management. 131, 108-114.
60. Erel, R., Kerem, Z., Ben-Gal A., Dag, A., Schwartz A., Zipori I., Basheer L., and Yermiyahu, U.
c.v. Alon Ben-Gal
3
(2014) Olive (Olea europaea L.) tree nitrogen status is a key factor for olive oil quality. Journal of
Agricultural and Food Chemistry, DOI: 10.1021/jf4031585.
61. Holland, S., Howard, A., Heitman, J.L., Giese, W., Sutton, T., Agam, N., Ben-Gal, A., Havlin, J.L.,
and Sauer, T.J. (2014) Implications of an interrow fescue cover crop for below-canopy water
dynamics in a North Carolina vineyard. Agronomy Journal.
62. Bustan A., Kerem Z., Yermiyahu U., Ben-Gal A., Lichter A., Droby S., Zchori-Fein E., Orbach D.,
Zipori I., and Dag A. (2014) Preharvest circumstances leading to elevated oil acidity in 'Barnea'
olives. Scientia Horticulturae. 176, 11-21.
63. Ünlü ,M., Kanber, R., Levent Koç, D., Özekici, B., Kekeç, U., Yesiloğlu, T., Ortaş, İ., Ünlü, F.,
Kapur, B., Tekin, S., Käthner, J., Gebbers, R., Zude, M., Peeters, A., Ben-Gal, A. (2014) Irrigation
scheduling of grapefruit trees in a Mediterranean environment throughout evaluation of plant water
status and evapotranspiration. Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry. 38, 908-915.
64. Kool, D., Ben-Gal, A., Agam, N., Šimůnek, J., Heitman, JL., Sauer, TJ. and Lazarovitch, N. (2014)
Spatial and diurnal below canopy evaporation in a desert vineyard: measurements and modeling.
Water Resour. Res., 50, doi:10.1002/2014WR015409.
65. Shi J., Yasour H., Yermiyahu U., Zuo Q., Ben-Gal A. (2014) Dynamic responses of wheat to
drought and nitrogen stresses during re-watering cycles. Agric. Water Manag. 146, 163-172.
66. Erel R., Ben-Gal A., Dag, A., Schwartz A., Yermiyahu, U. (2014) Sodium replacement of
potassium in physiological processes of olive trees (var. Barnea) as affected by drought. Tree
Physiology. In Press.
67. Dag A, Naor A., Ben-Gal A., Harlev, G., Zipori, I., Schneider, D., Birger, R., Peres, M., Gal, Y., and
Kerem Z. (2014) The effect of water stress on super-high density ‘Koroneiki’ olive oil quality J. Sci.
Food Agric., In press.
68. Dag, A. Ben- Gal, A., Goldberg, S., Yermiyahu, U., .Zipori, I., Or, E., David, I., Netzer Y., and
Kerem, Z. (2015) Sodium and chloride accumulation in woody tissue of Cabernet Sauvignon
grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.) and in must as a function of rootstock and irrigation water salinity. Am
J. Enol. Vit. 66, 80-84.
69. Peeters, A., Käthner, J., Zude, M., Ünlü, M., Kanber, R., Hetzroni, A., Gebbers, R., and Ben-Gal,
A., (2015) Getis-Ord's hot- and cold-spot statistics as a basis for multivariate spatial clustering of
tree-based data. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 111, 140-150.
70. Shi., J., Zuo Q., Li, S., Ben-Gal A. (2015) An index for plant water deficit based on root-weighted
soil water content. J of Hydrology, 522, 285-294.
71. Erel, R. Yermiyahu, U., Dag A., Ben-Gal, A., Shapiro, O., Schwartz, A. (2015) Modification of nonstomatal limitation and photoprotection due to K and Na nutrition of olive trees. Journal of plant
physiology. in press.
72. Zipori, I., †Yermiyahu, U., Erel, R., Presnov, E., Feingold, I., Dag, A., Ben-Gal, A. (2015) The
influence of irrigation level on olive tree nutritional status. Irrigation Science. 66, 80-84.
73. Ning, S., Zuo, Q., Shi, J., Wang, S. and Ben-Gal, A. (2015) Generalization of the root length
density distribution of cotton under drip irrigation. Field Crops Research. 177, 125-136.
74. Silva Ruiz, M., Yasour, H., Ben-Gal, A., Yermiyahu U., Saranga, Y., Elbaum R. (2015) Fruit
hypodermis thickening induced by salinity alters the texture of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum ssp.)
fruits Scientia Horticulturae, 192, 244-249.
75. Raveh, E., and Ben-Gal., A. (2015) Irrigation with water containing salts: evidence from a macrodata national case study in Israel. Agric Water Manag. In press,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2015.10.035.
76. Bustan, A., Dag, A., Yermiyahu, U., Erel, R., Presnov, E., Agam, N., Kool, D., Iwema, J., Zipori, I.
and Ben-Gal, A. (2016) Fruit load governs transpiration of olive trees. Tree Physiology, in press.
doi: 10.1093/treephys/tpv138s
77.Tugendhaft, Y. Eppel A, Kerem Z, Barazani O, Ben-Gal A, Kadereit JW and Dag A (2016) Drought
tolerance of three olive cultivars alternatively selected for rain fed or intensive cultivation. Scientia
Horticulturae . 199, 158-162.
78. Kool, D., Kustas, W.P., Ben-Gal, A., Lazarovitch, N., Heitman, J., Sauer, T., Agam, N. (2016)
Energy and evapotranspiration partitioning in a desert vineyard. Agric Forest Meteorology. 218219, 277-287.
BOOK CHAPTERS AND INVITED REVIEW PAPERS (SELECTED)
79. Ben-Gal, A., Tal, A., and Tel-Zur, N. (2006) The Sustainability of arid agriculture: trends and
challenges. Annals of Arid Zone, 45, 227-258.
80. Ben-Gal, A. (2011). Sustainable water supply for agriculture in Israel. In: Alon Tal and Alfred
Abed Rabbo, eds. Water Wisdom: Preparing the Groundwork for Cooperative and Sustainable
Water Management in the Middle East. Rutgers University Press. ISBN: 978-0-8135-4771-8. pp
211-223.41.
81. Ben-Gal, A. (2011) Salinity and olive: from physiological responses to orchard management.
c.v. Alon Ben-Gal
4
Israel Journal of Plant Science. 59, 15-28.
82. Yermiyahu U., Ben-Gal A., and Keren R. (2011) Boron in treated wastewater. In: G. Levy, A. BarTal and P. Fine (Eds.), Use of treated wastewater in agriculture: impacts on crop and soil
environment. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK. pp 216-233.
83. Ben-Gal A, Naoum S, Yermiyahu U, Jitan M, Mazahreh N, Qaryouti M, Qawasmi M. (2012)
Managing irrigation water with high concentrations of salts in arid regions. In: U.S. EPA Guidelines
for Water Reuse. E58-E59.
http://www.waterreuseguidelines.org/images/documents/2012epaguidelines.pdf
84. Ben-Gal A., Yermiyahu U. and Dudley, L.M. (2013) Irrigation management under saline
conditions. In: MOL 12, The Journal of the Science Society of Galicia. pp 8-32.
http://scg.org.es/MOL_12.pdf
c.v. Alon Ben-Gal
5