Activity 1: Conservation of plant genetic resources

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

(1) Collection of autochthonous and introduced cultivars: all known cultivars grown in Croatia will be collected and vegetative propagated.

(2) In situ characterization and selection of wild olives: morphological and genetic identification (SSR primers) and in situ characterization of wild olive populations will be carried out in the entire olive growing area of Republic of Croatia. Outstanding individuals of wild olives will be vegetative propagated.

 (3) Experimental collection establishment: cca 180 individuals of autochthonous, introduced and wild olives will be planted in the collection in Kaštel Stari.

The activity is linked with the objective 1 in the part related to the establishment and conservation of plant genetic resources, with the aim to maintain and ensure the basis for olive accessions phenotyping in the same growing conditions.

Activity 2: Phenotyping

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

(1) Primary and secondary characterization and determination of reproductive parameters of collected olive accessions: primary characterization includes tree, leaf, flower, inflorescence, fruit and stone. Standard protocols as well as equipment and software WinFolia and WinSeedle for morphological characterization (Regent Instrumens Inc.) will be used. Secondary characterization of cultivated and wild olives includes analysis of inflorescence, determination of flower sterility, pollen germination, self-compatibility and self-incompatibility, vegetative propagation, growing characteristic and earliness of plant maturity.

(2) Alternate productivity research of the most important autochthonous olive cultivar ‘Oblica’: in this activity the (non)regular yield of cultivar ‘Oblica’ will be analyzed on different trees on several locations in order to determinate main parameters affecting alternate productivity. The possible causes and the intensity of alternate productivity of individual trees will be analyzed mainly on morphological, physiological and agronomical level during at least two years.

(3) Olive abiotic stress resistance and determination of quantity and composition of oil in olive fruits: Testing olives on drought and increased soil salinity resistance will be carried on in controlled environment in a greenhouse. Growing young plants in controlled environment makes possible faster testing of higher number of cultivars in defined interval of salt and water supply in order to select cultivars which are more tolerant to adverse (specific) growing conditions. Quantity and oil composition (fat acid composition, polyphenolic quantity and composition, sterol quantity and composition etc.) will be determinated on lyophilized olive fruits.

The activity is linked with the objective 1 in the part related to the collection phenotyping aiming to determinate morphological and pomological olive accessions diversity; determination of alternative productivity causes and the selection of ‘Oblica’ trees with regular yield; and determination of the drought and increased salinity tolerance degree of olive accessions.

Activity 3: Genotyping 

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

(1) Microsatellite loci (SSR) will be used for identification of all accessions collected during the prospecting surveys.

(2) SNP loci and DArTseq will be used for determination of molecular loci linked to the genes responsible for olive oil specific traits, olive reproductive characteristics, alternative production and tolerance to drought and increased salinity.

(3) Analysis of chloroplasts of traditional cultivars and wild olives jointly with accessions from the rest of the Mediterranean will make possible the determination of the origin of Croatian olives and their relationship with olives from other countries.

The activity is linked with the objective 1 in the part related to the collection genotyping aiming to determinate genetic structure, diversity, relationship and origin of cultivated and wild olives as well as to identify loci for quantitative traits (QTL) for desirable reproductive traits, drought and increased salinity tolerance traits and oil composition.