Removal of flowers or inflorescences affects ‘Barnea’ olive fruitlet post-anthesis abscission

Global warming is predicted to have a negative effect on plant growth due to the damaging effect of high temperatures. In order to address the effect of high temperature environments on olive oil yield and quality, we compared its effect on the fruit development of five olive cultivars placed in a region noted for its high summer temperatures, with trees of the same cultivars placed in a region of relatively mild summers. We found that the effects of a high temperature environment are genotype dependent and in general, high temperatures during fruit development affected three important traits: fruit weight, oil concentration and oil quality. None of the tested cultivars exhibited complete heat stress tolerance. Final dry fruit weight at harvest of the 'Barnea' cultivar was not affected by the high temperature environment, whereas the 'Koroneiki', 'Coratina', 'Souri' and 'Picholine' cultivars exhibited decreased dry fruit weight at harvest in response to higher temperatures by 0.2, 1, 0.4 and 0.2 g respectively. The pattern of final oil concentration was also cultivar dependent, 'Barnea', 'Coratina' and 'Picholine' not being affected by the high temperature environment, whereas the 'Koroneiki' and 'Souri' cultivars showed a decreased dry fruit oil concentration at harvest under the same conditions by 15 and 8% respectively. Regarding the quality of oil produced, the 'Souri' cultivar proved more tolerant to a high temperature environment than any other of the cultivars analyzed in this study. These results suggest that different olive cultivars have developed a variety of mechanisms in dealing with high temperatures. Elucidation of the mechanism of each of these responses may open the way to development of a variety of olives broadly adapted to conditions of high temperatures.

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“…The last time-point for this analysis was at harvest. Analysis was done as described [38] with safranin/fast green staining.…”

Section: Cell Size-histological Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

High temperature environment reduces olive oil yield and quality

et al. 2020

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“…Paper bags were shaken every day and removed at the end of the Souri flowering period (May 2016). Since fruitlet drop occurs during the 30 days after anthesis [28], fruits were counted two months after anthesis (July 2016), and fruit set was calculated. All surrounding olive groves covering the landscape can be considered mono-cultivar orchards of Souri.…”

Section: Self-compatibility Examinationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compatibility between “Arbequina” and “Souri” Olive Cultivars May Increase Souri Fruit Set

et al. 2020

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The “Souri” olive cultivar, which is autochthonous to the eastern Mediterranean region, has been the major olive variety cultivated traditionally under rain-fed conditions in northern Israel. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal pollen donor for the olive cultivar Souri in order to maximize Souri fruit set. Artificial cross pollination of Souri flowers with several local varieties has identified the “Nabali” as the most efficient pollinizer of the Souri. However, further experiments using artificial cross pollination conducted with cultivars not common to this region have revealed the “Arbequina” as a more efficient pollinizer of the Souri cultivar than the Nabali. Based on a preliminary paternity analysis, the Nabali was identified as the dominant pollinizer of Souri trees in traditional olive orchards in the north of Israel. However, in a multi-variety orchard, molecular paternity analysis has shown Arbequina to be the most frequent pollinizer. We then tested, during two consecutive years, whether the presence of a pollen-producing Arbequina tree adjoining Souri trees in the field will increase their fruit set. We found that Souri fruit set was 8.36% when pollinized by an Arbequina tree in close proximity to them, significantly higher than the fruit set of 5.6% for Souri trees without the nearby Arbequina cultivar. On the basis of these trials, we expect that the yield of Souri orchards will improve if Arbequina trees are planted.

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“…For example, one study measured in cv. 'Barnea' between 13-27 flowers per inflorescence, with most inflorescences carrying 19 flowers [8]. In the above example, a tree Plants 2023, 12, 1714 2 of 24 with 0.5 million flowers would contain more than 26,000 inflorescences.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…A mature olive tree, planted at a density of 250 trees per hectare, is estimated to produce up to 0.5 million flowers per year [6]. The average number of flowers on an inflorescence varies among genotypes [7][8][9]. Within a genotype, the number of flowers on an inflorescence can also vary.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Studying Parameters Affecting Accumulation of Chilling Units Required for Olive Winter Flower Induction

Engelen

Wechsler

Bakhshian

et al. 2023

Plants

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With global warming, mean winter temperatures are predicted to increase. Therefore, understanding how warmer winters will affect the levels of olive flower induction is essential for predicting the future sustainability of olive oil production under different climactic scenarios. Here, we studied the effect of fruit load, forced drought in winter, and different winter temperature regimes on olive flower induction using several cultivars. We show the necessity of studying trees with no previous fruit load as well as provide evidence that soil water content during winter does not significantly affect the expression of an FT-encoding gene in leaves and the subsequent rate of flower induction. We collected yearly flowering data for 5 cultivars for 9 to 11 winters, altogether 48 data sets. Analyzing hourly temperatures from these winters, we made initial attempts to provide an efficient method to calculate accumulated chill units that are then correlated with the level of flower induction in olives. While the new models tested here appear to predict the positive contribution of cold temperatures, they lack in accurately predicting the reduction in cold units caused by warm temperatures occurring during winter.

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Removal of flowers or inflorescences affects ‘Barnea’ olive fruitlet post-anthesis abscission

Cited by 5 publications

References 33 publications

High temperature environment reduces olive oil yield and quality

High temperature environment reduces olive oil yield and quality

Compatibility between “Arbequina” and “Souri” Olive Cultivars May Increase Souri Fruit Set

Studying Parameters Affecting Accumulation of Chilling Units Required for Olive Winter Flower Induction

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