Shortening the period for assessing the resistance of olive to Verticillium wilt using continuous lighting

Abstract

The use of continuous and natural lighting was studied to assess the resistance of 12 olive cultivars to the defoliating pathotype of Verticillium dahliae. The plants were inoculated by dipping their bare root system in a conidial suspension. ‘Frantoio’ was used as a moderately resistant control cultivar. Several evaluated cultivars were susceptible to the defoliating pathotype of Verticillium dahliae. However, six of these cultivars were moderately resistant. In most of the evaluated cultivars, continuous lighting allowed for the identification of resistant genotypes during a period that was 3 weeks shorter than that which is normally required in these assessments. This reduction was even greater for the resistant cultivars. The use of continuous lighting could thus be an important tool for use in olive breeding programs, where it is necessary to evaluate many genotypes in short durations and, therefore, to optimize time, space, and labor.