Olive Breeding with Classical and Modern Approaches

Abstract

Olive breeding aims to the adoption of a fast-track breeding methodology to rapidly identify and select ortets within the available gene pool or in progenies from planned mating design for the development of new varieties that meet the current objectives of the olive industry. Basic information is needed on the breeding objectives, the genetic basis of the desired traits, the selection criteria to be adopted, and the genetic diversity available for trait enhancement and new varieties needed by the current and future olive farmers. The available genetic diversity is not yet well organized according to the gene pool concept that greatly facilitates the choice of breeding materials and breeding procedure to adopt. In addition, despite recent significant efforts, the progress of knowledge on single-locus traits and QTLs is still limited, placing the efficiency of olive breeding at a crossroad. To overcome this important limiting factor, the current selection activities could be merged with the biotechnological advancements to formulate a faster trait-enhancement procedure based on cloning and genotyping of immature embryos from planned mating designs. Developments in DNA sequencing will now allow a cost-efficient increase of genomic resources for driving the rapid acquisition of information on genes for important economical and agronomical olive traits. The in vitro germination of immature zygotic embryos, zygotic embryo cloning, and application of modern genomic resources will set the stage for an accelerated olive breeding procedure.