The Citron Compendium The Citron (Etrog) Citrus medica L.: Science and Tradition

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.

 

The Biology of the Citron.- Citron Genomics.- Citron Phytochemistry.- Selected Aspects of Commercial Production in Etrog Orchards.- Preserving Etrog Quality After Harvest: Doctrine and Practice.- Citron Arthropod Pests in the Mediterranean, Their Origin and Notes On Their Biology and Management.- Diseases of the Etrog Citron and Other Citrus Trees.- The Citron ( Citrus medica L.) in China.- The Citron in Italy and Its cultivation in Calabria.- The Citron in Corsica.- The Citron in the United States.- The Citron in Mediterranean Food and Beverages.- 'Fruit of the Goodly Trees’: The Talmudic Discourse on the Etrog Citron.- From Theophrastus to the Present: The Citron in Medicine.- The Etrog Citron in Art.- The Etrog Citron in Midrashic and Kabbalistic Literature.- From ‘An Etrog’ to ‘One's Etrog’: A Literary Analysis of S.Y. Agnon’s Story.- History of the Citron in Ancient Israel and the Near East.- The Etrog Citron Trail to the North: Genoa and Trieste.- The Corfu Etrog Citron Polemic.-The Grafted Etrog Citron Controversy.- Etrog Citrons of the Land of Israel in Modern Times.

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.