by Gideon Motschen
The connection between the members of the moshavim and citrus orchards began even before they settled in the area, when they worked in orchards in the older Jewish colonies. Upon settling on the land, most members were hired workers and worked in the citrus groves of Tel Mond. In 1930, the first well was dug in the moshav, and each member received a plot and a parcel of land for a grove.
Why citrus? The soil and climate conditions were well-suited for citrus growing, and the members already knew the work.
Each parcel was prepared along contour lines, since irrigation was done using furrows and basins. The furrows were planned with a slope so that water would reach the basins. They would irrigate three rows at a time and rush to seal leaks so the water wouldn’t overflow.
The first saplings came from a nursery prepared by Motschen and his friends in Herzliya. These were grafting stocks of sweet lemon. Soil testing revealed that in some places, just beneath the surface, there was an impermeable layer of nazzaz soil, so in those areas they had to plant sour orange (Chochush) rootstock. Onto the sweet lemon stock, they grafted Shamouti oranges and lemons, while grapefruit and Washington Valencia were grafted onto sour orange. The diversity of varieties was meant to spread the harvest over a longer season.
When the orchards began bearing fruit, members built small packing sheds within the groves, called “baykot.” There were about five such structures, where members – men and women – worked sorting, wrapping, building and sealing crates. All the work, including harvesting, was done by the members themselves until 1967, when laborers from the Territories began arriving.
One crucial job in the orchard was “bakhar” (meaning “sea” in Arabic) – deep hoeing to uproot couch grass, since herbicides were not yet available. There were also pests that had to be dealt with, like the black scale insect. We, the children, would sit with rubber brushes and scrub the fruit to remove the pests.
Irrigation methods changed in the 1950s, from furrows to perforated pipes laid along the rows. The pipes were moved from one row to another. As the orchard matured and trees grew dense, we thinned them by half, down to 40 trees per dunam. Then irrigation methods changed again: fixed overhead sprinklers, aluminum pipes beneath the canopy, plastic pipes with micro-sprinklers, and today – plastic pipes with drip irrigation.
After the War of Independence, the groves expanded with new plantings by veteran members and newcomers. The baykot were closed, and the community hall was turned into an improvised packing house. Everyone came from their grove with a cart pulled by a donkey, loaded with crates (called buksot) full of citrus fruit. Later, fruit was transported for packing at Beit Yehoshua.
In the late 1950's, new orchards were planted again, and the saplings came from five large nurseries in Ein Vered. The nurseries supplied grafted saplings wrapped in plastic. Our job was to rise early, collect saplings from the nursery, and deliver them to the planters.
In the 1960's, the government ordered the closure of dairy farms in the moshav, and citrus orchards expanded. The moshav’s total area for orchards was the largest in the cooperative settlement movement – nearly 3,000 dunams, and the produce was excellent – 8 tons per dunam.
In 1965, a new packing house was built southeast of the moshav. Harvesting now used Shiltonah bins, which were carted to the packing house.
In later years, the market began to demand easy-peel varieties, and new cultivars were developed. Not all were suitable for export to Europe, and the Spanish began to dominate the European easy-peeler market. Thus, the prestige of Israeli citrus declined, and so did profits. Additionally, the cost of marketing intermediaries reduced growers’ income, and some growers uprooted their orchards.
Today, the citrus area in Ein Vered is about 2,000 dunams. Due to water shortages, areas have been reduced, and some groves are being uprooted. Since the cost of living has increased, a family now needs about 100 dunams of high-yielding citrus to make a living.
Future orchards will be based on dense planting – 70–100 trees per dunam, drip irrigation, and fertilizer integrated into the irrigation system.
New seedless, easy-peeling varieties are constantly being developed. The expected yield is higher, trees are shorter, harvesting is easier, and the fruit is tasty and in demand.