Yerel Zeytin Çeşitlerindeki Pomolojik Değişimlerin Farklı Hasat Zamanlarında Belirlenmesi

Abstract

Olive (Olea europaea L.) is an important oil producing fruit species and it has been cultivated since ancient times. Turkey is rich in local olive varieties and it is necessary to determine their pomological parameters. The aim of the present study was to determine the pomological characteristics of five olive varieties (Çekişte, Memecik, Yamalak sarısı, Eşek zeytini, Gemlik) at five harvest periods (H1-H5) throughout the fruit development period. Olives were collected from an orchard in Aydın at monthly intervals between July and November 2019. During fruit development and ripening, 10 pomological variables (fruit width and length, seed width and length, fruit and seed weight, flesh weight, flesh/seed ratio, flesh firmness and fruit moisture content) were measured. All pomological variables exhibited significant differences between harvest periods and varieties. While fruit ripening indices of the varieties increased over time, level of change differed among the varieties. During fruit ripening of olive varieties, fruit length and width, fruit weight, seed length and width, fruit flesh weight and flesh/seed ratio increased significantly, while flesh firmness and fruit water contents decreased. Seed weight increased between H1-H3 periods, but it did not show a significant change at the later stages of fruit development. These results show that important physiological changes occur starting from the pit hardening of the olive varieties and continue throughout the fruit growth and ripening.