It's a long way to go to see a Sturt's Desert Pea!

After 11 years you can see how different salinity levels effect plant growth

Behind us are some the palms growing in fresh water.

I was up early to catch a bus south to Yotvata to meet up with Efi Tripler (love that name) at the Arava Centre for Agriculture Water Use Research.

Efi has been running a long term trial with saline water on date palms for 11 years. They are all in giant pots attached to lysimeters (measure water use). This trial shows how much saline water can affect even salt tolerant plants like date palms. I'll let the photos do the talking.

There are a lot of veggies grown out here in the desert, water is a problem but there is very little disease because nothing can survive getting across the desert to infect their crops.

Efi had a commercial flower trial at the centre and I got a kick out of seeing an Australian plant growing there, a Sturts Desert Pea. Apparently they are quite salt tolerant and almost bullet proof. I had to laugh, I've travelled through the desert country of central Australia years ago and never got to see one and here it is in Israel.

You've got to go a long way to see Sturt's Desert Pea!