New Research Alert: Drought Resilience in Olive Cultivars
A recent study published in Frontiers in Plant Science explored how three olive cultivars—Arbequina, Arbosana, and Koroneiki—respond to increasing drought stress in Mediterranean climates.
Using tree-ring growth, wood anatomy, and high-resolution δ¹³C profiling by LA-IRMS, researchers found:
- Koroneiki stands out with superior drought resilience, stable growth, and the highest fruit yield (10.2 kg/tree in 2023).
- It adopts an anisohydric strategy, relying on stored carbon and maintaining water transport under stress.
- Arbequina and Arbosana showed more isohydric behavior, with greater sensitivity to seasonal climate shifts and higher δ¹³C variability.
These insights are vital for designing future orchards in drought-prone regions. 🌍🌱
