YIELD AND OIL QUALITY OF INTENSIVELY TRAINED TREES OF THREE CULTIVARS OF OLIVE (OLEA EUROPAEA L.) UNDER DIFFERENT IRRIGATION REGIMES

SummaryThe aim of the present study was to evaluate the qualitative and quantitative yield response to irrigation of olive in southern Italy. The olive cvs Kalamata, Ascolana Tenera, and Nocellara del Belice were tested in a factorial combination with four irrigation levels: a rain-fed control (T0) and three treatments (T1, T2 and T3) irrigated daily with an amount of 33%, 66% and 100%, respectively of crop evapotranspiration. Soil water content remained near field capacity in treatment T3 with no difference with respect to treatment T2. In T0 and T1, the soil moisture decreased during the summer with the lowest value (20.8%) found in T0 on 12 August, after which rainfall restored the soil moisture to field capacity. During the season the relative water content in the leaves was higher in the irrigated treatments than in the rain-fed control. Yields were higher in all the cultivars with irrigated treatments than in the rain-fed control. The yield increase with treatment T1 in `Nocellara del Belice' was 20...