The Citron Compendium (eBook)

This comprehensive book covers the theoretical and practical aspects of citron trees and fruit. The citron (Citrus medica L.), one of the three primary species ancestral to most citrus types, is used for traditional medicine and is highly revered in the Jewish religion during the Tabernacles feast, referred to by the name 'Etrog'. This book's three sections address biology (botany, genomics, Chinese and Mediterranean citrons, diseases, pests, and horticulture), tradition (Talmudic discourse, mysticism, medicine, literature, art, food, and beverages) and history (archaeology, trade, grafting controversies); these sections are supplemented by a glossary and pictorial album.

The 22 chapters, some new and some translated and considerably expanded from the 2018 Hebrew edition, were written by world-renowned specialists from Israel, Italy, France, the U.S.A., China and Australia. The book is written in an accessible scientific style aimed at a wide range of readers.

 

Eliezer E. Goldschmidt (born 1938, Jerusalem) is a James De Rothschild Professor of Horticulture, emeritus, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He earned his Ph.D. in 1968 and has been a professor since 1982. His research has focused on horticultural productivity with an emphasis on citrus. Prof. Goldschmidt is primarily known for his research on citron history and genetics. He developed a synthetic auxin treatment which is instrumental for the maintenance of a persistent style of; a feature which is highly significant in determining the halachic status of etrog citrons for their use in the feast of Tabernacles.

Moshe Bar-Joseph ( born 1939, Romania), founder and former Head of the S. Tolkowsky Laboratory for Citrus Disease Research at the Volcani Institute, ARO; Retired adjunct Professor of Plant Virology, Ben-Gurion University, Beer Sheva, Israel. He earned his Ph.D. in 1972. Moshe Bar-Joseph is a world-renowned citrus pathologist specializing in plant virology and experienced in citron propagation for viroid diagnosis. He conducted seminal investigations of the Citrus Tristeza Virus (CTV) disease and its spread in Israeli citrus orchards.