Yield and physical -chemical quality of table olives in different hedgerow canopy positions (cv. Manzanilla de Sevill a an d Manzanilla Cacereña ) as affected by irradiance

Abstract

Unlike oliv e orchards intended fo r oliv e oil, th e pr odu ction of tabl e olives in na rro w hedgerow s is very recent an d th e info rmation avai lable abou t this cropping sy ste m is ye t very scarce . In this work , we studie d fo r th e firs t time in tabl e oliv e hedgerow s (3.75m x 1.35m, N - S or iented) of Ma nzanill a de Sevill a an d Ma nzanill a Ca cereñ a cu lti - vars , th e di str i b ution within th e canopy of yiel d co mponent s an d phys ica l -chemical frui t qualit y traits in re - sponse to th e incident irradiance . Hedgerow canopies were divide d into four position s on each side (Eas t an d West ) accordin g to height abov eground : 0. 5 –1.0m , 1. 0 –1.5m , 1. 5 –2.0m , 2. 0 –2.5m , an d an additional to p canopy position (> 2.5m ) integrated fo r both sides. Tota l pr odu ction , nu mbe r of fruits an d size di str i b ution were recorded fo r each position an d th e fo llo win g frui t traits were assessed : fres h weight , length , equato ria l diam eter, pulp -to -pi t ratio, colo r index, brui sin g pe rcentage, oi l co ntent , wate r co ntent , tota l su gar s an d tota l ph enols . Indi - vi dua l ph enoli c co mpounds were also quantified . Th e incident irradiance at each position wa s ca lculate d over th e frui t growth period usin g a mode l base d on hedgerow parameters , resultin g in a po s itive gr adien t from base to to p canopy positions. Fo r both cu ltivars , yiel d co mponent s an d most qualit y traits were po s itively affected by incident irradiance as they fo llowe d a si m ila r tren d showin g larger mean va lue s with increa sin g canopy heights. Co nversely, th e tota l co ntent s in suga r an d ph enols an d indivi dua l ph enoli c co mpounds were no t affected by th e canopy positions. No remarkable di ffe rence s betwee n East an d West side s of th e hedgerow were observed .