Influence of Irrigation, Variety and Collection Time on Mineral Contents of Olive Leaves

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of factors such as irrigation, variety and collection time on mineral contents of olive leaves. The highest Ca (31115.73 mg/kg), K (8398.34 mg/kg) and S (1679.05 mg/kg) contents were determined in leaves of Gemlik variety collected in irrigated orchard. Olive leaves of Ayvalık variety grown in irrigated orchard contained the maximum levels of Mg (3394.94 mg/kg) and P (949.13 mg/kg). The P, K and Mg amounts of olive leaves, in general, showed an increase with irrigation treatment. Generally, a regular increase or decrease did not observe in levels of macro elements of olive leaves based on collection time. Concerning the micro element contents of leaves, the highest Na contents were found in Ayvalık (241.11 mg/kg) and Yağlık (237.65 mg/kg) varieties. An increase was obtained in Fe contents of Yağlık olive leaves with irrigation during collection period. The concentrations of both macro and micro elements showed differences depending on the collection time, irrigation process and variety of olive leaves.