VARIABILITY OF MORPHOLOGICAL PARAMETERS AMONG THE OLIVE TREE AND  RELATIONS CORRELATIVES

C MASMOUDI-CHARFI; M MSALLEM; S BEN ABDALLAH

C MASMOUDI-CHARFI Laboratoire d’Amélioration de la Productivité de l’Olivier et Qualité du Produit, Institut de l’Olivier, Station de Tunis Sis INRAT-Tunisie
M MSALLEM Laboratoire de l’Amélioration Génétique de l’Olivier, Institut de l’Olivier, Station de Tunis Sis INRATTunisie.
S BEN ABDALLAH Institut de l’Olivier, Station de Tunis Sis INRAT-Tunisie

Keywords: Olive variety collection, coverage, elongation, canopy volume, ecartype, correlation, soil, shoots

Abstract

This work was carried out in northern Tunisia on a varietal collection of olive (Olea europaea L.)to analyze the variability of growth parameters with regard to variety. The morphological parameters of 29 olive varieties cultivated intensively under drip irrigation were studied, through regular monitoring on trees, shoots and leaves. Statistical relationships were established between the studied parameters and with their ecartypes in order to evaluate their variability. Results showed large differences between varieties and even trees and that most growth parameters are inter-correlated. Particularly, tree height was highly correlated to canopy diameter and trunk height. Soil coverage, which evolved between 15.4% (2010) and 21.6% (2013), was significantly correlated to olive production. Such results show that even varieties are growing under the same conditions, they don’t valorize them similarly. These differences should be considered when planting multi-varietal orchards to get harmonious groves. A particular attention should be attributed to soil coverage, which is an essential component to determine the irrigation crop water needs.