EFFECT OF GROWTH RETARDANTS ON MORPHOLOGICAL, ANATOMICAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL AND FRUITING CHARACTERISTICS OF OLIVES (OLEA EUROPAEA L.) UNDER WATER STRESS CONDITIONS

N. Sharma, K. Singh, A. Thakur
Studies on the application of PP333 either through soil at 2, 4 and 6 g a.i. tree-1 in mid-December or as foliar spray at 500, 1000 and 2000 ppm in mid-March and chlormequat at 500, 1000 and 2000 ppm in mid-March were conducted on olive cultivars ‘Leccino’ and ‘Canino’ under rainfed conditions of Kigus, Dist. Mandi, Himachal Pradesh during 2006-2007. The results revealed that foliar application of PP333 at 2000 ppm caused higher reduction in flush growth, while foliar applied PP333 at 500 ppm and soil applied PP333 at 6 g a.i. tree-1 in ‘Leccino’ and all soil treatments of PP333 in ‘Canino’ reduced leaf yellowing and leaf rolling significantly. The foliar application of PP333 at 500 and 1000 ppm also caused higher reduction in shoot tip bending. In ‘Leccino’ fruit set and yield efficiency were higher and fruit drop lower in the tree treated with PP333 through soil at 4 g a.i. tree-1, whereas in ‘Canino’ foliar application of CCC at 2000 ppm gave best results with regards to fruit set. Fruit size and weight were higher in the trees treated with PP333 at 2 g a.i. tree-1 through soil. Higher reduction in leaf area was observed with foliar application of PP333 at 2000 ppm and soil application of PPP333 at 6 g a.i. tree-1. The size of stomata was smaller and stomatal density higher (29.33 stomata/microscopic field) in the leaves from trees with soil application of PP333. Photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and transpiration rate were higher in the trees given soil application of PP333 at 2 and 4 g a.i. tree-1. Therefore, these studies revealed that soil application of PP333 at 2-4 g a.i. tree-1 in December hold promise in mitigating water stress and improving the production of olives under rainfed conditions.
N. Sharma, , K. Singh, and A. Thakur, (2011). EFFECT OF GROWTH RETARDANTS ON MORPHOLOGICAL, ANATOMICAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL AND FRUITING CHARACTERISTICS OF OLIVES (OLEA EUROPAEA L.) UNDER WATER STRESS CONDITIONS. Acta Hortic. 890, 393-402
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2011.890.56
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2011.890.56
leaf yellowing, leaf water potential, olive, paclobutrazol, yield efficiency
English

Acta Horticulturae