Rosh HaNikra

Rosh Hanikra (Hebrew: רֹאשׁ הַנִּקְרָה, lit. Head of the Grottoes) may refer to:

Rosh HaNikra (kibbutz)

Rosh HaNikra (Hebrew: רֹאשׁ הַנִּקְרָה) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located on the Mediterranean coast near the Rosh HaNikra grottoes and the border with Lebanon, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Asher Regional Council. In 2009 it had a population of 1143.

History

The kibbutz was established on 6 January 1949 by a gar'in of demobilised Palmach soldiers who moved there from Kibbutz Hanita, along with Zionist youth movement members and young Holocaust survivors.

Economy

The kibbutz grows bananas and avocados, and raises turkeys. In 1974, kibbutz members founded a biotechnology company called Rahan Meristem, which included the first commercial tissue culture laboratory in the country. Rahan developed new procedures for large scale, in-vitro, clonal propagation of over 200 plant genera including ornamental, industrial, fruit and vegetable crops. In the mid-1980s, in-vitro propagated banana plants became the leading product. Rahan is now a center of research and consultation for the banana industry throughout the world. A formal R&D department was established in 1991 to provide technical support. Areas of expertise include molecular and classical genetics, plant cell and tissue culture, plant biochemistry and physiology, bacteriology and industrial biotechnology. Methods have also been developed for the control of contaminating microbes, early detection and elimination of somaclonal variation, reduction of labor and fixed costs in production etc.