engleski

Effective pollination period in olive cultivar Lastovka

Simultaneous flowering of olive cultivars enables effective pollination, fertilization and fruit set if compatibility between recipient and polleniser trees exists. In the olive orchards we can usually find cultivars with different flowering periods. Under these conditions, fruit set of cultivars with a short effective pollination period (EPP) may be endangered. The main objective of this study was to determine the components of the EPP in Croatian olive cultivar Lastovka and its importance in losses of productivity. Since EPP is defined by three components, namely stigma receptivity, pollen tube growth kinetics and ovule viability, the role taken by each of them is examined. Better pollen performance was recorded in cross-pollinated flowers than in those pollinated with its own pollen. The difference was already apparent 48h after pollination, when pollen tube was found in 27% of cross-pollinated flowers, while at the same time fertilization was observed in 9.5% of self-pollinated flowers. Stigma receptivity and ovule viability did not endanger duration of the EPP in ‘Lastovka’. Longer duration of the EPP was recorded from analyses of its components compared to fruit set declines resulting from sequential pollination in the orchard. These results indicate that self- or cross- incompatibility may be more important factor than a short EPP in limiting fruit set in ‘Lastovka’.

Fruit set; Ovule viability; Pollen tube growth; Stigma receptivity

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