Olive Response to Girding, Micronutrients and Growth Retardants

The olives are principally used for oil extraction all over the world, while some cultivars can also be used for pickling. Being rich source of polyunsaturated fatty acid and freedom of cholesterol makes it ideal oil as compared to many edible oils. The olive cultivation is being practised in the northern hilly states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. However, the productivity of these plantations is very low owing to poor bloom, low percentage of perfect flowers or insufficient fruit set. The abscission of flower and fruit-let in olives is mostly responsible for the small percentage of fruits retained to maturity. It is therefore very crucial to understand the various external and internal factors involved in flower induction in olive for achieving regularly higher yields. Horticultural techniques viz., girdling, pruning, use of growth retardants and micronutrients have been used to enhance the productivity in olives. In this book attempt has been made to review the work done on various aspects like use of girdling, micronutrients, and growth retardants to enhance productivity in fruit crops in general and olive in particular. This book can serve as reference book for students, teachers and research workers engaged in the field of Fruit Science.