Morphological and Yield-Related Pomological Characterization of Introduced Olive (Olea Europea) Cultivars in Rainfed Area of Pothowar Punjab

Abstract

This study aims at pomological characterizing of 09 olive cultivars planted in the field area of Barani Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Chakwal to estimate genetic variability in Ottobratica, Hamdi, FS-17, Gerboi, Arbequina, Persia, Nabali, Koroneiki and Earlik. Following pomological traits: fruit and stone weight (g), fruit and stone size (cm), fruit and stone shape index (length/width) and flesh to stone ratio were studied. Data for studied traits were collected in 2019 according to the International olive council descriptor. A significant genetic difference was noticed in the morphological characteristics of both fruit and stone. Different pomological characters were expressed by each cultivar. A wide range of variation was noticed in fruit weight (1.33-5.57g), stone weight (0.20-0.63g) and flesh/stone ratio (0.90-4.96). Based on their fruit shape, studied cultivars were classified into two groups i.e., ovoid and elongate. However, no significant difference was recorded for the stone shape, as all the studied cultivars had the same elongated stone shape. Concerning the fruit size, high fruit size (4-6g) was observed in FS-17, Hamdi, Earlik and Persia whereas Koroneiki, Nabali and Gerboi had the smallest ones (>2g). Based on our results, Earlik, Hamdi and FS-17 are suggested to be more appropriate for table olive production. Thus, an evaluation of genetic diversity through this study can help in the varietal development of olive for table and oil purposes.