Iidentification of low-vigour rootstocks in a collection of wild olive genotypes

Póster presentado en Olivebioteq 2018, the 6th International Conference on Olive Management and Olive Products, held in Seville, Spain, on 15th-19th October 2018.In recent years a change in the traditional cropping model under rain-fed regime is being transformed into intensive and superintensive olive groves undergoing fertilization and irrigation. This means the use of low vigor cultivars of early entry into production and higher branching habit like Arbequina, currently the most used cultivar in super high-density plantations. This cultivation system excludes the possibility of using varieties of greater vigour, but of high socioeconomic importance. The growing use of very few cultivars of reduced vigor is leading to a progressive genetic impoverishment of the crop. We intend to take advantage of the genetic variability present in the wild subspecies of Olea europaea to identify and characterize wild olive genotypes of reduced vigor with optimal adaptability to diverse soils and adverse environmental conditions that can be used as rootstocks for intensive and super-intensive olive tree cultivation. The SILVOLIVE collection consists of 149 genotypes from all known subspecies of Olea europaea described so far, including the subspecies: europaea, laperrinei, cuspidata, cerasiformis, guanchica and maroccana. These genotypes were prospected from world olive germplasm collections (Córdoba and Marrakech) and different regions of Spain, continental Africa and the Macaronesian archipelago. The genetic variability of the collection was addressed with nuclear and plastidial molecular markers. Early vigour parameters were studied in 103 genotypes of 13-14 months old age belonging to all the subspecies. Different anatomical traits regarding root, shoot and stem growth, branching patterns and internodal elongation were quantified. A wide variability in vigour parameters was observed, including genotypes from very low to very high vigour. Future works will be carried out to determine the capacity of selected genotypes used as rootstocks to reduce the vigour of different olive cultivarsPeer reviewe