Elevated temperatures negatively affect olive productive cycle and oil quality

Abstract

Climate change, with elevated temperatures throughout the year, affects many stages of the reproductive growth and development of olives as well as oil quality at harvest. Although olive (Olea europaea L.) is well adapted to the environmental conditions of the Mediterranean Basin, agricultural techniques and breeding through selection programs will have to adapt to these climate change, threatening to worsen in the near future. Defining the pathways controlling high fruit productivity and oil quantity and quality, despite elevated temperatures and sub-optimal growing conditions, is important for coping with current and predicted climate changes. As breeding programs aiming to address these crucial changes may take several decades, an urgent need to designate specific olive cultivars that are more resistant to high temperatures emerges.