PHTOSYNTHESIS AND RESPIRATION IN OLIVE FRUIT

Photosynthesis and respiration per gram of fresh weight in olive drupes, cvs Leccino and Dolce Agogia, were highest during the first weeks after fruit set. Successively, with fruit development, both decreased rapidly. The level of photosynthesis depended on light intensity and, in full light, it varied according to the stage of development, from 5 to 80% of the CO₂ released from respiration. The low level of photosynthetic activity seems to be more connected to the low chlorophyll content and primarily to the low surface area/volume ratio than to the low density and functioning of the stomata. Parallel to the gas exchange and growth rate data recorded for the fruit, the variation of some of their constituents was examined.