Articles
Vegetative growth is reduced by fruit load but is not affected by moderate water stress in summer
Article number
1446_26
Pages
191 – 198
Language
English
Abstract
Olive trees have a high tendency toward alternate bearing.
The harvest each year depends on the number of buds that were formed in the previous season and how many of them were induced to flower.
Developing fruits are priority sinks competing with vegetative growth with irrigation resulting in improvement in vegetative growth.
In the humid climate of Uruguay, with lower vapor-pressure deficit than in the Mediterranean basin, the development of vegetative growth in response to irrigation deficit is unknown.
To understand the processes involved, an experiment was carried out for two seasons on adult olive trees of the ‘Arbequina’ and ‘Frantoio’ cultivars.
Annual shoots were marked in spring, and the number of nodes and developing fruits were measured until harvest.
The shoots were categorized as high- or low-load based on a critical value of 35 fruits/100 base nodes.
After pit hardening, three water regimes (0, 50, and 100% crop evapotranspiration) were applied until harvest.
A negative effect of fruit load on vegetative growth was observed from the first recorded dates in spring.
Fruit bearing shoots had between 10 and 63% fewer new nodes/100 base nodes than non-bearing shoots.
Between 61 and 100% of the new nodes were formed before pit hardening in both cultivars and in both seasons, which explains why moderate water stress in summer did not reduce vegetative growth.
Bud potential for the following year is defined in spring and is dependent on fruit load.
These results reinforce the importance of spring as a critical moment to define irrigation strategies in relation to vegetative growth.
The harvest each year depends on the number of buds that were formed in the previous season and how many of them were induced to flower.
Developing fruits are priority sinks competing with vegetative growth with irrigation resulting in improvement in vegetative growth.
In the humid climate of Uruguay, with lower vapor-pressure deficit than in the Mediterranean basin, the development of vegetative growth in response to irrigation deficit is unknown.
To understand the processes involved, an experiment was carried out for two seasons on adult olive trees of the ‘Arbequina’ and ‘Frantoio’ cultivars.
Annual shoots were marked in spring, and the number of nodes and developing fruits were measured until harvest.
The shoots were categorized as high- or low-load based on a critical value of 35 fruits/100 base nodes.
After pit hardening, three water regimes (0, 50, and 100% crop evapotranspiration) were applied until harvest.
A negative effect of fruit load on vegetative growth was observed from the first recorded dates in spring.
Fruit bearing shoots had between 10 and 63% fewer new nodes/100 base nodes than non-bearing shoots.
Between 61 and 100% of the new nodes were formed before pit hardening in both cultivars and in both seasons, which explains why moderate water stress in summer did not reduce vegetative growth.
Bud potential for the following year is defined in spring and is dependent on fruit load.
These results reinforce the importance of spring as a critical moment to define irrigation strategies in relation to vegetative growth.
Publication
Authors
M. Arias-Sibillote, V. Severino, G. Medina, J.J. Villamil, C. García, C. Leoni, G.P. García-Inza, P. Conde-Innamorato
Keywords
Olea europaea L., deficit irrigation, reproductive physiology, alternate bearing
Online Articles (54)