He attended high school in Afula and served in the Israeli army as a transport officer.

His doctoral dissertation was under the direction of Professors Daniel Zohary and Joseph Katznelson.

His research advanced the agricultural sector of growing fresh herbs in Israel, and his findings gave him an international reputation.

He also taught biology at the agricultural school at Nahalal, and gave many lectures in his area of expertise in courses at a number of colleges and universities, including Ruppin, the Technion, and the Faculty of Agriculture of the Hebrew University.

In 1999 Dr. Putievsky was appointed head of Volcani Institute of Agricultural Research (ARO), a position he held until 2007.