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Horticulturae
Special Issues
Sustainable Oliviculture Facing Emerging Challenges
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Sustainable Oliviculture Facing Emerging Challenges

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Fruit Production Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2022) | Viewed by 9176

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Maria Celeste Dias

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Life Science, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: climate change; ecophysiology; metabolomics; valorization of by-products
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Conceição Santos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Rua Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
Interests: biocontrol; cytotoxicology; ecotoxicology; essential oils; natural molecules; OMICS; phytochemistry; plant protection; plant physiologist
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The oliviculture has extraordinary importance in the landscape, and in the socio-economic heritage of the Mediterranean countries. The olive tree (Olea europaea L.) is well adapted to the Mediterranean ecosystems, but currently, it faces new challenges related to the ongoing climate change, and new pests and diseases, including the devastating Xylella fastidiosa. Promoting sustainable oliviculture requires a better understanding of the crosstalk mediating the plant’s adaptation to abiotic and biotic stress, and developing new production practices. Better understanding of olive genomes, molecular-signaling, and physiological processes will also help to valorize the whole processes of the olive chain-of-value, from the ecosystem services to the olive oil quality.

This Special Issue addresses all multidisciplinary fields related to oliviculture, olive trees, and the olive chain-of-value, namely:

  • ecosystems management and services;
  • sustainable and precision practices;
  • breeding (including valorization of ancient varieties);
  • genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics;
  • vegetative and reproductive physiology (e.g. photosynthesis, oxdative stress, flowering and hormonal crosstalk);
  • adaptation to climate change;
  • pests and diseases;
  • biological control agents;
  • olive fruit yield and quality, bioactive compounds and beneficial effects;
  • biotechnology and by-products.

Papers dealing with challenges of climate change (e.g., drought and heat) and emerging diseases on olive performance and yield were particularly welcome.

Dr. Maria Celeste Dias
Prof. Dr. Conceição Santos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Horticulturae is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • adaptations
  • biocontrol
  • climate change
  • ecosystems
  • oil
  • olive
  • omics
  • pests and diseases
  • physiology
  • sustainability

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 4663 KiB  
Article
Low Tree Vigor, Free Palmette Training Form, and High Planting Density Increase Olive and Oil Yield Efficiency in Dry, Sloping Areas of Mediterranean Regions
by Roberto Massenti, Antonino Ioppolo, Gianluca Veneziani, Roberto Selvaggini, Maurizio Servili, Riccardo Lo Bianco and Tiziano Caruso
Horticulturae 2022, 8(9), 817; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8090817 - 06 Sep 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1650
Abstract
Exploiting biodiversity must be considered today an effective strategy to improve the sustainability of olive production systems. The evaluation of local cultivars, based on their vegetative and fruiting traits, along with an analysis of product quality, may contribute significantly to the development and [...] Read more.
Exploiting biodiversity must be considered today an effective strategy to improve the sustainability of olive production systems. The evaluation of local cultivars, based on their vegetative and fruiting traits, along with an analysis of product quality, may contribute significantly to the development and diffusion of new olive-growing systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate growth, productivity, and olive oil quality of three Sicilian cultivars with different vigor/growth habit grown in four different combinations of training form and planting density. ‘Abunara’, ‘Calatina’, and ‘Nocellara del Belice’ olive trees were planted in four different intensive planting systems: 2 × 5 m trained to central leader (CLx2), 3 × 5 m trained to free palmette (FPx3), 4 × 5 m trained to small globe vase (GVx4), and 5 × 5 m trained to poly-conic vase (PVx5) and evaluated for seven years. Planting systems with low-density showed faster growth (trunk cross section area and canopy volume) than high-density systems. High-density systems had higher yield per hectare but lower yield per tree than low-density systems. ‘Calatina’ was the least vigorous but most productive cultivar. ‘Abunara’ and ‘Nocellara’ were relatively vigorous and suffered the tight spacings of high-density systems. Yield efficiency was generally high in ‘Calatina’, and it showed an increase with time in ‘Abunara’ and ‘Nocellara’ grown under the GVx4 and PVx5 systems. Fruit yield per hectare was highest in ‘Calatina’ grown under high-density systems. Oil yield was lower in ‘Nocellara’ than in ‘Abunara’ and ‘Calatina’. In terms of oil quality, ‘Calatina’ and ‘Abunara’ produced oils with higher oleic acid content than ‘Nocellara’. Generally, ‘Calatina’ has production characteristics of considerable interest, which, combined with low canopy volume and vigor, make it suitable for intensive pedestrian olive orchards with high levels of harvest and pruning mechanization and using different strategies and machines. Overall, for their management flexibility, these planting systems can contribute to improve sustainability of the olive industry even in sloping, dry areas of the Mediterranean. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Oliviculture Facing Emerging Challenges)
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19 pages, 3217 KiB  
Article
Crop Diversification Effects on Soil Aggregation and Aggregate-Associated Carbon and Nitrogen in Short-Term Rainfed Olive Groves under Semiarid Mediterranean Conditions
by Manuel González-Rosado, Luis Parras-Alcántara, Jesús Aguilera-Huertas and Beatriz Lozano-García
Horticulturae 2022, 8(7), 618; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8070618 - 08 Jul 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2406
Abstract
Soil particle aggregation and their associated carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) content can provide valuable diagnostic indicators of changes in soil properties in response to the implementation of different agricultural management practices. In this sense, there is limited knowledge regarding the impact of [...] Read more.
Soil particle aggregation and their associated carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) content can provide valuable diagnostic indicators of changes in soil properties in response to the implementation of different agricultural management practices. In this sense, there is limited knowledge regarding the impact of intercropping on soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) pools in aggregates. This study aimed to evaluate the short-term effect (4 years) of three crop diversifications in rainfed olive orchards on soil aggregation, SOC and TN concentration and SOC stocks (SOC-S) under semi-arid Mediterranean conditions. Olive orchards were diversified with Crocus sativus (D-S), Vicia sativa and Avena sativa in rotation (D-O) and Lavandula x intermedia (D-L) and compared with monocropping system (CT). Soil samples were collected at two depths (0–10 and 10–30 cm) and analysed for soil aggregate mass, SOC and TN content in aggregate-size fractions obtained by the wet-sieving method. Changes caused by crop diversifications on SOC-S were also determined. Overall, after 4 years, a reduction in aggregation values was observed. However, D-S increased the macroaggregates (>250 μm) percentage, Mean Weigh Diameter values, and Geometric Mean Value in the 0–10 cm. Across treatments, aggregate-associated C in 0–10 cm was higher in the D-S treatment, while in the 10–30 cm soil layer, the greatest values were found in CT. Regarding the SOC-S, after 4 years, significant losses were recorded under CT management in 0–10 cm (−1.21 Mg ha−1) and 10–30 cm (−0.84 Mg ha−1), while D-O and D-L showed similar values to those obtained at the beginning of the study. The highest increases in SOC-S were found in D-S, with an increase of 5.88% in the 0–10 cm and 14.47% in the 10–30 cm. Our results showed the high potential of the diversified cropping system to increase soil stability and SOC sequestration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Oliviculture Facing Emerging Challenges)
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15 pages, 1516 KiB  
Article
Evolution of Oleuropein and Other Bioactive Compounds in Arbequina Olive Leaves under Different Agronomic Conditions
by María Esther Martínez-Navarro, Cristina Cebrián-Tarancón, María Rosario Salinas and Gonzalo L. Alonso
Horticulturae 2022, 8(6), 530; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8060530 - 15 Jun 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1708
Abstract
Oleuropein and other phenolic compounds contained in olive leaves give it the potential to be transformed from residue to co-product in an oil mill. However, the moment of the agronomic cycle in which their potential transformation is higher is not known in detail. [...] Read more.
Oleuropein and other phenolic compounds contained in olive leaves give it the potential to be transformed from residue to co-product in an oil mill. However, the moment of the agronomic cycle in which their potential transformation is higher is not known in detail. Therefore, for the first time, a monthly study of the evolution of such compounds throughout an agronomic cycle is made (November 2019 to October 2020). Arbequina olive leaves were collected from three plots and the interactive effects of agronomic conditions were investigated, such as crop management (conventional and ecological), plantation framework (intensive and super-intensive) and location under different climatic conditions. The results showed that the main compound throughout the cycle was oleuropein and the highest levels occurred around the pruning season (February/March). Crop management and location affected the content of verbascoside and hydroxytyrosol, while plantation framework only influenced the flavonoid content. All compounds were affected by relative humidity and differential temperature, although hydroxytyrosol showed the highest correlation with the maximum temperature. The absorbance measurements by ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry showed trends parallel to the oleuropein concentration measured by high-performance liquid chromatography, which suggests that this method could be useful to easily study the evolution of oleuropein in the oil mill. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Oliviculture Facing Emerging Challenges)
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Review

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19 pages, 860 KiB  
Review
Sustainable Olive Culture under Climate Change: The Potential of Biostimulants
by Maria Celeste Dias, Márcia Araújo, Sónia Silva and Conceição Santos
Horticulturae 2022, 8(11), 1048; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8111048 - 08 Nov 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2715
Abstract
Climatic extreme events, like droughts, heatwaves, and floods are becoming recurrent and represent a threat to agriculture, lowering plant growth and productivity. The Mediterranean region is a climate-change hotspot, where traditional agricultural systems, like olive groves, are particularly challenged. Both the traditional and [...] Read more.
Climatic extreme events, like droughts, heatwaves, and floods are becoming recurrent and represent a threat to agriculture, lowering plant growth and productivity. The Mediterranean region is a climate-change hotspot, where traditional agricultural systems, like olive groves, are particularly challenged. Both the traditional and intensive systems of olive culture coexist in the Mediterranean. Both systems differ in their demands for water and agrochemicals, but nowadays, the global inputs of agrochemicals and irrigation have increased to achieve high productivity and profitability. Finding sustainable alternatives to maintain high productivity under the ongoing climate change is urgent to meet the EU-Farm to Fork strategy and climate neutrality. Candidate eco-friendly alternatives include biostimulants. These are substances or microorganisms, that activate signaling cascades and metabolic processes, increasing plant yield, quality, and tolerance to stressors. These benefits include a better growth, nutritional status and water availability, leading to a decreased demand for irrigation and agrochemicals. In this review, we aim to present different types of biostimulants (e.g., seaweed, protein hydrolysates, humic substances, microorganisms and nanomaterials), their mode of action and benefits in agriculture. We also explore the current state-of-the-art regarding the use of biostimulants in olive culture, and their potential benefits to increase tolerance to (a)biotic challenges. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Oliviculture Facing Emerging Challenges)
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