Investigation on morphological characteristics, yield and nutrient contents in the leaves of 11 olive cultivars grown in Tarom region

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. Student, Department of Plant Biology, School of Biology and Center of Excellence in Phylogeny of Living Organisms, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2 Professor, Department of Plant Biology, School of Biology and Center of Excellence in Phylogeny of Living Organisms, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

3 Assistant of Professor, Soil and Water Research Department, Zanjan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Zanjan, Iran

Abstract

Environmental stresses are of main factors affecting the olive cultivation programs in arid regions. Morphological and functional characteristics and the amount of leaf nutrients in 11 cultivars of olive (Zard, Roghani, Voliotiki, Arbequina, Karidolia, Oblonga, Amigdalolia, Koroniki, Leccino, Conservolea and Korfolia) grown in Tarom region under saline conditions and irrigation with salty water were studied. The results showed that, the cultivars were different in morphological traits (number of inflorescences on branches, number of flowers in inflorescences, the number of fruits per branch, the final number of fruits on the branches, chlorophyll index) and leaf nutrient contents (boron, copper, zinc, manganese, iron, potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, sodium, chlorine). The highest fruit number was recorded in Arbequina (8.66), Korfolia (7.33) respectively and the lowest amount was recorded in Roghani (1.66), Zard (3.33) and Karidolia (3.33) respectively. The results showed that Koroniki and Amigdalolia cultivars contain less amounts of sodium and chlorine in their leaves, which is probably due to the resistance of these cultivars to salinity conditions and can be taken into consideration for salinity resistance.
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