Facilitation of olive harvest by microbial indole acetic acid and an enzyme mixture

Abstract

In this study, the effect of indole acetic acid (IAA) and/or a commercial enzyme mixture on the olive harvest was analyzed. IAA was produced by Gibberella fujikuroi. IAA (1500 and 3000 ppm) and/or the commercial enzyme preparation (1%) was mixed and applied to the olive trees before (3 weeks and 1 week) the harvest. The changes in protein, pectin and cellulose contents of fruits were determined monthly. While the cellulose and protein contents showed a decrease in 2 periods of 3 months (July-September and October-December), pectin contents increased in the same period. IAA and/or enzyme applications did not lead to any significant changes in the cellulose and protein contents of the fruit (p>0,001). However, the pectin amount in the trees where the enzyme application was performed before the harvest, showed a tendency to fall. The most convenient application with regard to the fruit and leaf fall was 3000 ppm IAA+1% enzyme application 3 weeks before harvest. While the fruit fall amount increased more when compared to the control and other groups with this application, the leaf fall decreased significantly.