Botanical characteristics of olive trees: cultivation and growth conditions – defense mechanisms to various stressors and effects on olive growth and functional compounds

• Published in: Olives and Olive Oil As Functional Foods pp. 13 - 33
• Main Authors: Tsantili, Eleni, Evangelou, Evangelos, Kiritsakis, Apostolos
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: United Kingdom John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated 2017; John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
• Subjects: defense mechanisms; functional compounds; olive cultivation; olive growth; plant stress adaptation
• ISBN: 1119135311; 9781119135319
• DOI: 10.1002/9781119135340.ch2

The main anatomic parts of the olive tree are the root system, trunk, main branches, leaves, buds, inflorescences and flowers, and fruit. These parts perform important physiological and growth functions of the olive tree. Hail and high relative humidity are responsible for disease problems, fruit damage, and olive oil quality defects, such as reduction of functional compounds of olive oil. According to studies on the prediction of temperature and net radiation increase in the Mediterranean area, this climate change in the near future will have a serious negative effect on olive cultivation. In such a case, the olive cultivation would face the challenge of choice between the high‐water‐demanding intensive systems and the low rain‐fed traditional system. In the case of olive trees under various stresses, the increased antioxidant enzymatic systems and antioxidant compounds, like phenolic and others, activate a common defense mechanism throughout all tissues, which responds effectively to stress situations.