IN VITRO REGENERATION OF CENTENNIAL OLIVE TREES (OLEA EUROPAEA L.)

Many centennial olive trees are recorded in the Mediterranean and are considered as precious heritage since the old times. Unfortunately, these trees are gradually disappearing due to their increasing ornamental value and to the progressive transformation of traditional olive groves into new commercial orchards. Hence, the conservation and regeneration of the ancient olive trees are becoming a crucial task. This study aimed to investigate the potential of in vitro regeneration of some centennial olive trees. Cultures initiation was conducted using single nodal cuttings on both MS and OM basal media supplemented by sucrose or mannitol and 4 mg L zeatine, with a survival rate ranging between 43 and 62%. The established explants lead to the regeneration of new shootlets with an average of 1 to 1.5 shootlets per explant. Four successive subcultures have been conducted on the same culture media with a proliferating rate varying between 1.5 and 3.2 shootlets. The rooting stage was successfully established on solid half-strength MS basal medium supplemented with 2 mg L NAA with a rate of 62%. These results indicate the effectiveness of tissue culture for regenerating ancient olive trees and its enormous potential that could be used for large scale propagation.