Inflorescence Emergence and Flowering Response of Olive Cultivars Grown in Olive Reference Collection of Portugal (ORCP).

In olive trees, fluctuations in the onset of phenological stages have been reported due to weather conditions. The present study analyses the reproductive phenology of 17 olive cultivars grown in Elvas (Portugal) in 3 consecutive years (2012-2014). Through 2017-2022, the phenological observations continued with four cultivars.

Regulation of sterol content and biosynthetic gene expression during flower opening and early fruit development in olive.

Phytosterols are lipophilic membrane components essential not only for diverse cellular functions but also are biosynthetic precursors of the plant hormone, brassinosteroid (BR). However, the interaction between phytosterol and BR during early fleshy-fruit growth remains largely uncharacterized. In olive, phytosterols are important lipids because they affect oil quality, but phytosterol composition during flowering and early fruit development has not been explored.

Modulation of sphingolipid long-chain base composition and gene expression during early olive-fruit development, and putative role of brassinosteroid.

Sphingolipids are abundant membrane components and signalling molecules in various aspects of plant development. However, the role of sphingolipids in early fleshy-fruit growth has rarely been investigated. In this study, we first investigated the temporal changes in sphingolipid long-chain base (LCB) content, composition, and gene expression that occurred during flower opening and early fruit development in olive (Olea europaea L.

Selection of olive varieties for tolerance to iron chlorosis.

Under certain conditions, olive trees grown on calcareous soils suffer from iron chlorosis. In the present study several olive varieties and scion-rootstock combinations were evaluated for their tolerance to iron chlorosis. Plants were grown over several months in pots with a calcareous soil, under two fertilization treatments.