Carob cultivation project to boost sugar alternatives and locust bean gum

10 Nov 2021 --- Agri-tech start-up CarobWay, has teamed up with Israel’s oldest environmental arm, the Jewish National Fund, to initiate a nationwide research initiative for carob trees.

The start-up has also sealed agreements with R&D farms and local farming communities in Israel to optimize carob cultivation to develop innovative carob-derived products.

CarobWay currently harvests carobs from key carob forests in several parts of Israel, owned by the JNF. The start-up also established its first 70-hectare (173 acres) modern carob grove in the Upper Galilee region.

The move was in conjunction with two R&D farms, Hulata and Galilee Agricultural Co., and five other collective farms. 

The venture spearheads a 10-year joint project for combining Israeli agricultural know-how and innovative technology to cultivate high-yield carob trees. The project will adhere to sustainability and fair trade ideals.

Bringing carob back to the table
The team is conducting broadscale screening of native carob species, which will allow the start-up to develop carob-based products in line with food industry needs.

“We applied several analytical methods to attain a deeper understanding of various carob species and their unique characteristics specifically so that we can tailor our offerings more adroitly to our clients,” says Udi Alroy, co-founder and CEO of Carobway. 

“For example, some carob species grow fruit with higher sugar content, albeit with a naturally low glycemic index. These can serve the needs of food and beverage companies seeking viable sugar alternatives. Other trees bear more seeds and so are more suited to the locust bean gum industry.” 

Hulata runs a model grove dedicated to R&D, wherein local carob varieties and their cultivation methods such as irrigation to pollination technologies are regularly analyzed by CarobWay staff. 

The orchard is fully automated and computerized, effectively gathering all cultivation and meteorological data.The orchard is fully automated and computerized.

Carob innovation
The start-up has also made headway in creating innovative carob-centered food products in its private lab. “Carob is a highly nutritious and flavorful fruit, yet its true potential has yet to be realized,” adds Alroy. “We are continually striving to bring the best of this super crop back to the table and to boost the carob value chain.

CarobWay developed an agri-app for aggregating pertinent field-level data of the various tree species and their attributes as part of the tree survey. It includes data like geographical location, tree yield, and seed volumes per pod. 

Fruit samples are taken for laboratory analysis to gain a detailed map of their compositional make up to assess nutritional value and functionality for specific supplement and food applications.

Tree research with JNF
CarobWay also sealed an agreement with the JNF-KKL for a nationwide survey of carob trees. The venture has conducted extensive field research to attain a complete analysis of domestic trees and identify the most fruitful carob varieties and optimum growing conditions.

The researchers have mapped the country using a Geographical Information Systems (GIS) data collection format in which trees are assigned to the closest meteorological station. 

This allows researchers to accrue location-based data on critical parameters like rain volumes and humidity to identify the ideal regions for growing carob trees.

“There are five species of carob trees that grow throughout Israel,” explains Sohel Zedan, Chief Forest Officer for the JNF and a leading global expert in carob cultivation and agriculture. 

“Some have been growing wild in forests for thousands of years and are well acclimatized, so have proven resilience to extreme weather conditions and other environmental changes.”

“Most were planted in the 1950s as part of a major afforestation campaign initiated by the JNF. Many of these deep-rooted perennial trees have long life spans, with the potential to live decades or even centuries. This makes them a highly sustainable, yet low-maintenance crop, traits we look for when selecting the best species to develop.”

Edited by Gaynor Selby