Abstract
Increasing consciousness regarding the nutritional value of olive oil has enhanced the demand for this product and, consequently, the expansion of olive tree cultivation. Although it is considered a highly resilient and tolerant crop to several abiotic stresses, olive growing areas are usually affected by adverse environmental factors, namely, water scarcity, heat and high irradiance, and are especially vulnerable to climate change. In this context, it is imperative to improve agronomic strategies to offset the loss of productivity and possible changes in fruit and oil quality. To develop more efficient and precise measures, it is important to look for new insights concerning response mechanisms to drought stress. In this review, we provided an overview of the global status of olive tree ecology and relevance, as well the influence of environmental abiotic stresses in olive cultivation. Finally, we explored and analysed the deleterious effects caused by drought (e.g., water status and photosynthetic performance impairment, oxidative stress and imbalance in plant nutrition), the most critical stressor to agricultural crops in the Mediterranean region, and the main olive tree responses to withstand this stressor.
Highlights
The olive tree (Olea europaea L.) is one of the emblematic crops of the Mediterranean region, where most of the world’s olive oil is produced [1]
The olive tree has several mechanisms that allow for good acclimation to drought, they are activated at the expense of carbon reserves and may be detrimental with the increased duration and intensity of the stress
Young plantations require some irrigation for their establishment due to their poorly developed root system and reduced capacity for storing water, that will be traduced in a great amount of water consumption
Summary
The olive tree (Olea europaea L.) is one of the emblematic crops of the Mediterranean region, where most of the world’s olive oil is produced [1]. Understanding how olive trees respond to drought stress is the first step to improving its profitability, allowing the selection of more resistant cultivars and identification of tolerant characteristics useful in breeding programs and in genetic engineering, as well as the development of accurate adaptation strategies according to necessities. In this context, the implications of climate change projections and an overview of the optimum conditions for olive cultivation are provided. The impact of drought on the morphological, physiological and biochemical traits, as well the acclimatisation responses of the olive tree to this stressor are critically discussed
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