Flowering Phenology of Olive Cultivars in Two Climate Zones with Contrasting Temperatures (Subtropical and Mediterranean)

The large amount of olive cultivars conserved in germplasm banks can be used to overcome some of the challenges faced by the olive growing industry, including climate warming. One effect of climate warming in olive is the difficulty to fulfill the chilling requirements for flowering due to mild winter temperatures. In the present work, we evaluate seven olive cultivars for their adaptation to high winter temperatures by comparing their flowering phenology in the standard Mediterranean climate of Cordoba, Southern Iberian Peninsula, with the subtropical climate of Tenerife, Canary Islands. Flowering phenology in Tenerife was significantly earlier and longer than in Cordoba. However, genotype seems to have little influence on the effects of the lack of winter chilling temperatures, as in Tenerife. This was found even though the cultivars studied had a high genetic distance between them. In fact, all the cultivars tested in Tenerife flowered during the three-year study but showed asynchronous flowering bud burst. ‘Arbequina’ showed an earlier day of full flowering compared with the rest of the cultivars. The results observed here could be of interest to refine the phenological simulation models, including the length of the flowering period. More genetic variability should be evaluated in warm winter conditions to look for adaptation to climate warming.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Medina-Alonso, María G., Cabezas, José Manuel, Ríos-Mesa, Domingo, Lorite, Ignacio J., León, Lorenzo, de la Rosa, Raúl
Other Authors: European Commission
Format: artículo biblioteca
Language:English
Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2023-07-01
Subjects:Olea europaea, Chilling requirements, Climate warming, Genetic variability,
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/350166
http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000780
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85184498422
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The large amount of olive cultivars conserved in germplasm banks can be used to overcome some of the challenges faced by the olive growing industry, including climate warming. One effect of climate warming in olive is the difficulty to fulfill the chilling requirements for flowering due to mild winter temperatures. In the present work, we evaluate seven olive cultivars for their adaptation to high winter temperatures by comparing their flowering phenology in the standard Mediterranean climate of Cordoba, Southern Iberian Peninsula, with the subtropical climate of Tenerife, Canary Islands. Flowering phenology in Tenerife was significantly earlier and longer than in Cordoba. However, genotype seems to have little influence on the effects of the lack of winter chilling temperatures, as in Tenerife. This was found even though the cultivars studied had a high genetic distance between them. In fact, all the cultivars tested in Tenerife flowered during the three-year study but showed asynchronous flowering bud burst. ‘Arbequina’ showed an earlier day of full flowering compared with the rest of the cultivars. The results observed here could be of interest to refine the phenological simulation models, including the length of the flowering period. More genetic variability should be evaluated in warm winter conditions to look for adaptation to climate warming.