Autor(es): Soveral, Marta de Agrela Cabral
Data: 2014
Identificador Persistente: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/8303
Origem: Repositório da UTL
Assunto(s): olive tree; pollination; fruit set; pollen viability; biostimulant
Autor(es): Soveral, Marta de Agrela Cabral
Data: 2014
Identificador Persistente: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/8303
Origem: Repositório da UTL
Assunto(s): olive tree; pollination; fruit set; pollen viability; biostimulant
Mestrado em Engenharia Agronómica - Instituto Superior de Agronomia
Aiming at an improvement of fruit set in olive tree cv. Tosca, a very early flowering variety, a field trial involving artificial cross pollination was carried out in a hedgerow olive orchard nearby Cartaxo, with pollinators 'Negrinha', 'Cordovil', 'Azeiteira' and 'Maçanilha', early flowering cultivars as well (free pollination as control), and with five other pollinators, 'Arbequina', 'Carrasquenha', 'Galega Evora', 'Maçanilha Carrasquenha' and 'Blanqueta', later flowering, on an exploratory basis. The viability and pollen germination ability of each of these varieties, including ‘Tosca’ was subsequently tested in the laboratory. In complement to this trial, the effect of a biostimulant derived from a seaweed extract in fruit set was evaluated in 'Tosca', as well as the evolution of chlorophyll levels. Overall, the fruit set of ‘Tosca’ revealed values above average, between 3% and 5%, showing better results in open-pollination than in artificial cross-pollination. Among the tested pollinators, the one which showed to be the most promising, regarding fruit set, was 'Negrinha', despite having revealed average percentages of pollen germination and viability (45-47%). The application of the biostimulant did not benefit the fruit set of 'Tosca', even though chlorophyll levels were shown higher in the area where the biostimulant was applied