Olive Branches Research Articles

Gaseous and aerosol emissions from open burning of tree pruning and hedge trimming residues: Detailed composition and toxicity

Gaseous and PM10 samples were collected during the open burning of pruning residues (olive branches and garden waste) and characterised by distinct analytical techniques to obtain comprehensive chemical emission profiles. Oxidative potential (dithiothreoitol and ascorbic acid assays) and cell viability tests were also performed with the aim of evaluating aerosol toxicity. Emission factors (EFs) were as follows (g kg−1 biofuel, dry basis): 1537–1672 for CO2, 41.9–80 for CO, 2.74–6.6 for CH4, 0.89–3.51 for ethane, 0.79–1.78 for ethylene and 0.56–3.47 for formaldehyde. Emissions of PM10, organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) were in the ranges 8–41, 3–18, and 0.4–1.5 g kg−1 biofuel, dry basis, respectively. OC accounted for 35–45% of the total PM10 mass, while EC contributed between around 3% and 5%. WSOC/OC ratios varied from 0.4 to 0.6, revealing that a substantial portion of the carbon emitted was hydrosoluble. Water soluble ions constituted around 8–21% of the PM10 mass, with potassium and chloride as the most abundant ions in all samples. Levoglucosan, widely used a reliable biomass burning tracer, was found in significant amounts in all samples (up to 1.2% of the PM10 mass). Retene, generally pointed out as a biomass combustion biomarker, was the predominant PAH. WSOC and some PAHs showed significant positive correlations with the intrinsic OP measured with the DTT assay, while the OPAA was significantly correlated with some trace metals, such as Fe or Ni. All samples significantly reduced the viability of alveolar epithelial cells.

Exogenous systemin peptide treatment in olive alters Bactrocera oleae oviposition preference

AbstractThe olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi), is a key pest of the olive crop, whose control relies mostly on the use of insecticides. Plant peptides may represent a more environmentally-friendly tool to manage olive fly, due to their recognized role to activate and/or prime plant defence responses against pests. In this work, behavioural experiments (no-choice and two-choice) and analysis of volatile compounds were carried out to evaluate the impact of the exogenous application of the peptide systemin to olive tree on olive fly infestation, and to elucidate its mode of action to prime plant defence. The treatment of olive branches with 10 nM systemin showed to confer protection against olive fly, by reducing significantly the ovipositions (up to 3.0-fold) and the number of infested fruits (up to 2.9-fold) when compared to non-treated branches. This protective effect was even detected in neighbouring non-treated branches, suggesting the ability of systemin to trigger plant-to-plant communication. The deterrent activity of the primed olives was associated with the emission of the volatiles 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, 4-tert-butylcyclohexyl acetate and 1, 2, 3-trimethyl-benzene, which were negatively correlated with oviposition and fly infestation. Systemin has also showed to trigger the biosynthesis of specific volatiles (esters) in olives in response to fly attacks. Overall, the observed protection conferred by systemin against olive fly is likely due to the emission of specific volatiles that can act as a defence and/or as signalling molecules to upregulate the plant defence response. Thus, systemin represents a novel and useful tool to manage olive fruit fly.

Oleuropein in olive leaf, branch, and stem extracts: stability and biological activity in human cervical carcinoma and melanoma cells.

Olive leaves as a main byproduct of olive oil and fruit industry are a valuable source of phytochemicals such as polyphenols, with multiple biomedical effects. Apart from leaves, olive branches and stems make up a significant amount of olive waste. It is well known that the drying process and long-term storage affect the stability and concentration of polyphenols present in raw materials. For that matter, two different means of storing olive waste, at room temperature and +4 °C, were compared by determining the content of the polyphenol oleuropein (OLE) in olive leaf, branch, and stem extracts (LE, BE, and SE) by HPLC-DAD method. Total phenols (TPC), o-diphenols (o-DPC), and total flavonoids (TFC) content in extracts were assessed by UV-Vis measurements. LE prepared from leaves stored at +4 °C had the highest OLE content, 30.7 mg g-1 of dry extract (DE). SE from stems stored at +4 °C was the richest in TPC and TFC (193 mg GAE/g DE and 82.9 mg CE/g DE, respectively), due to the higher purity of the extract. The biological activity of extracts was determined on cervical cancer (HeLa), melanoma (A375), metastatic melanoma (A375M) tumor cell lines, and on spontaneously immortalized cell line of keratinocytes (HaCaT), using the MTT assay. The data show that all extracts had a similar dose-dependent effect on cell viability in HeLa cells, while the effect of LE on melanoma A375 and A375M, and HaCaT cells was cell-line dependent.

Potential of the endophyte Penicillium commune in the control of olive anthracnose via induction of antifungal volatiles in host plant

Olive anthracnose, caused by several Colletotrichum species, is the most economically harmful fruit disease of the olive crop. This work aimed to evaluate the ability of the endophyte Penicillium commune CIMO 14FM009 to protect the olive tree against Colletotrichum nymphaeae via induction of plant volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Accordingly, olive tree branches were inoculated with the endophyte and one month later with the pathogen. After 0, 3, and 24 h of pathogen inoculation, the volatile composition of leaves and fruits was analyzed by HS-SPME-GC/MS, and compared with controls (branches inoculated with buffer, endophyte, or pathogen). The effect of plant-derived volatiles on C. nymphaeae was also evaluated. Penicillium commune induced the release of VOCs on the olive trees, with the capacity to reduce significantly the growth (up to 1.4-fold) and sporulation (up to 1.2-fold) of C. nymphaeae. This effect was most notorious on olives than on leaves, and occurred 3 h after pathogen-challenge, suggesting the need for a stressful stimulus for the production of antifungal VOCs. The observed inhibition was associated to a specific set of VOCs released from olives (mostly belonging to the alcohols and esters chemical classes) and leaves (mostly belonging to the alkenes). Curiously, a set of VOCs belonging to alkene, alkane and ester classes, were emitted exclusively in olive branches inoculated with C. nymphaeae. These findings provide new possibilities for controlling olive anthracnose using P. commune and/or volatiles, which efficacy should be tested in future works.

First Report of Olive Branch Dieback in Croatia Caused by Cytospora pruinosa Défago.

Olive (Olea europaea L.) is a very important crop grown in the Mediterranean part of Croatia. Olive branch and fruit dieback symptoms were observed in two olive orchards in Istria, Croatia. The samples from symptomatic trees were collected and brought to the laboratory for analysis. Based on their morphological characterization, isolated fungi were identified as Cytospora sp. Two representative isolates (one per orchard) were taken for molecular analysis, and based on DNA sequence data of the ITS and TUB gene regions, and phylogenetic analysis of the sequences, the isolates were identified as Cytospora pruinosa Défago. To determine pathogenicity, pathogenicity tests were conducted on detached olive branches and two-year-old olive trees in the greenhouse. This is the first report of C. pruinosa causing olive branch and fruit dieback in Croatia.

The Last Revolutionaries: The Conspiracy Trial of Gracchus Babeuf and the Equals by Laura Mason

Reviewed by: The Last Revolutionaries: The Conspiracy Trial of Gracchus Babeuf and the Equals by Laura Mason Christopher Coski Mason, Laura. The Last Revolutionaries: The Conspiracy Trial of Gracchus Babeuf and the Equals. Yale UP, 2022. ISBN: 978-0-300-25955-1. Pp. 304. Mason's study examines in detail the conspiracy trial of Gracchus Babeuf and his allies during the regime of the Directory. The constitution of 1795, which established the Directory, restricted freedom of the press and of assembly, undermining the popular activism that had marked the Revolution itself, in the name of restoring order. Babeuf was one of the leading voices demanding a return to the freedoms of the 1793 constitution, criticizing the government via newspaper and pamphlet, advocating the abolition of private property as the root of inequality, and supporting the inherent right of citizens to revolt against repressive government. Mason's book lays this contextual foundation very well in the first four chapters, which close with Babeuf's life of hiding and clandestine publication, and his eventual arrest. The greater part of the work, chapters five through thirteen, presents a highly detailed account of the trial of Babeuf and his associates. These chapters offer a compelling narrative in which the reader sees rampant irregularities and political agendas informing the judicial process, which ultimately led to the execution of Babeuf and one associate, and the exile of several others. The final two chapters analyze the philosophical, political, and social aftermath of the proceedings. The conclusion offers an inspiring connection to the present day, underlining how Babeuf "lent singular voice to a chorus that continues to demand liberation from grinding poverty, political exclusion, and the disdain of difference," and "to demand a society that nourishes and respects all its members" (234). Throughout the work, Mason inserts assessments of alternatives that might have occurred if the actors involved had made different choices. Just to cite one example: "Ultimately, it was up to the directors to overcome […] polarization and safeguard the center they had sworn to protect. They might have done so by extending olive branches to both sides […]. They might have refused to vilify skepticism […] and to treat the alleged plot as the tip of an iceberg of extremism" (82). These critical assessments of how things might otherwise have played out make the reader truly feel that what is being witnessed was, at the time, not a history carved in stone, but a living, breathing, present moment that could have turned in any number of possible directions had other choices been made. Sources include a wide array of both primary and secondary texts. Mason's prose is clear and well organized, making the work accessible to a wide range of readers. The subject matter is, perhaps, narrowly focused enough that it may not pique the interest of non-specialists, but Mason's book is definitely worthy of the attention of scholars of the Revolution and its aftermath. In particular, scholars with an interest in the Directory will not want to overlook this work. [End Page 212] Christopher Coski Ohio University Copyright © 2023 American Association of Teachers of French

The Blue Beret

The Blue Beret

First Report of Phaeoacremonium iranianum Causing Olive Twig and Branch Dieback.

In an olive orchard on the western part of Istria, Croatia, twig and branch dieback was observed on several olive trees. In total, seven samples from symptomatic trees were collected. Samples were analyzed, and four fungal isolates showed morphological similarities to the species Phaeoacremonium. One isolate, chosen as a representative, was taken for molecular identification and pathogenicity tests. Based on the DNA sequence data of the ITS, TUB, and EF1α gene regions, the isolate was identified as P. iranianum. Pathogenicity tests were conducted on detached olive branches and olive trees in the greenhouse. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of twig and branch dieback on olive caused by Phaeoacremonium iranianum.

Olive branches activated carbon: synthesis, phenol adsorption and modeling

Olive branches activated carbon: synthesis, phenol adsorption and modeling

Optimal vibration parameters for olive harvesting from finite element analysis and vibration tests

Several vibration harvesting parameters must be obtained through experiments due to the complexity of olive branches. However, the pure test method significantly reduces the efficiency of equipment development. Therefore, in this study, we proposes a research method based on a combination of finite element simulation and vibration tests to address this problem. SolidWorks was used to establish a three-dimensional model of an olive tree including some smaller branches, The natural frequency and modal vibration modes of olive trees were determined by modal analysis. Furthermore, the vibration parameters were determined by harmonic response analysis. Then, the vibration motor was tested at five frequencies (10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 Hz), and the results were compared with the transient analysis results. The results show that the vibration response is more intense in the medium frequency range (18.66–28.96 Hz). It is inefficient and uneconomical to harvest all olives by applying force to the trunk. It is more effective to apply vibration force to the lateral branch to lessen the damage inflicted to the tree. An excitation force of 5220 N at 25 Hz to the left branch is suitable for harvesting the olive fruit. The average correlation coefficient of the maximum resultant acceleration observed in the tests and its simulated value was 0.63, indicating that the model can predict the vibration response reliably. Finally, the results of the harmonic response analysis were verified by transient analysis. This study can serve as a reference for the design of vibration harvesters. • A three-dimensional model of an olive tree including some small branches was established. • Optimal parameters were determined through modal and harmonic response analyses. • Actual vibration response of olive tree was investigated using the transient analysis.

Pathogenicity Testing of Fungal Isolates Associated with Olive Trunk Diseases in South Africa.

A recent olive trunk disease survey performed in the Western Cape Province, South Africa, identified several fungi associated with olive trunk disease symptoms, including species of Basidiomycota, Botryosphaeriaceae, Coniochaetaceae, Calosphaeriaceae, Diaporthaceae, Diatrypaceae, Phaeomoniellaceae, Phaeosphaeriaceae, Symbiotaphrinaceae, Togniniaceae, and Valsaceae. Many of the species recovered had not yet been reported from olive trees; therefore, the aim of this study was to determine their pathogenicity toward this host. Pathogenicity tests were first conducted on detached shoots to select virulent isolates, which were then used in field trials. During field trials, 2-year-old olive branches of 15-year-old trees were inoculated by inserting colonized agar plugs into artificially wounded tissue. Measurements were made of the internal lesions after 8 months. In total, 58 isolates were selected for the field trials. Species that formed lesions significantly larger than the control could be considered as olive trunk pathogens. These included Biscogniauxia rosacearum, Celerioriella umnquma, Coniochaeta velutina, Coniothyrium ferrarisianum, isolates of the Cytospora pruinosa complex, Didymocyrtis banksiae, Diaporthe foeniculina, Eutypa lata, Fomitiporella viticola, Neofusicoccum stellenboschiana, Neofusicoccum vitifusiforme, Neophaeomoniella niveniae, Phaeoacremonium africanum, Phaeoacremonium minimum, Phaeoacremonium oleae, Phaeoacremonium parasiticum, Phaeoacremonium prunicola, Phaeoacremonium scolyti, Phaeoacremonium spadicum, Pleurostoma richardsiae, Pseudophaeomoniella globosa, Punctularia atropurpurascens, Vredendaliella oleae, an undescribed Cytospora sp., Geosmithia sp., two undescribed Neofusicoccum spp., and four Xenocylindrosporium spp. Pseudophaeomoniella globosa can be regarded as one of the main olive trunk pathogens in South Africa because of its high incidence from olive trunk disease symptoms in established orchards and its high virulence in pathogenicity trials.

Impacts of Olive Waste-Derived Biochar on Hydro-Physical Properties of Sandy Soil

In this study, waste olive leaves and branches were pyrolyzed to produced biochar, and their impacts on physical and chemical properties of a sandy soil were evaluated. Pyrolytic temperatures of 300 °C, 400 °C, and 500 °C were used for biochar production. After evaluating the physio-chemical properties, the produced biochars were added to the top 10 cm layer of the soil at rates of 0%, 1%, 3%, and 5% in a column experiment at 25 °C. Biochar was mixed with a sandy soil into the top 10 cm of the columns. For all treatments, cumulative evaporation was reduced; however, treatments with 5% biochar prepared at the highest temperatures showed the highest impact. The available water contents were increased by 153.33% and 151.11% when olive branch-derived biochar and olive leaves-derived biochars produced at 500 °C were applied at 5% rate, respectively. No impact of available water was observed for 1% biochar contribution. Biochar application decreased both cumulative infiltration and infiltration rate. Biochar pyrolyzed at 500 °C most intensely improved hydro-physical properties of a sandy soil. However, its application as a soil supplement in arid environments should be adopted with constraints due to its high pH (9.69 and 9.29 for biochar pyrolyzed at the highest temperatures) and salinity (up to electrical conductivity = 5.07 dS m−1). However, the salinity of biochar prepared from olive branches (5%, pyrolyzed at 500 °C) was low (0.79 dS m−1); therefore, it can be used safely as a supplement in saline and acidic soils, but with restriction in alkaline soils.

Olive Twig and Branch Dieback in California Caused by Cytospora oleicola and the Newly Described Species Cytospora olivarum sp. nov.

Field surveys conducted throughout California olive-growing regions in 2008 and 2009 resulted in a collection of 101 Cytospora-like isolates from olive twig and branch dieback symptoms. Cytospora isolates were isolated from multiple cvs. in different olive orchards in Fresno, Madera, Merced, Napa, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, Tulare, and Ventura counties. Taxonomic studies of macro- and microscopic structures along with multigene phylogenetic analyses of the internal transcribed spacer region, including the 5.8S rDNA (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2), and fragments of the translation elongation factor 1-α, beta-tubulin, and actin genes identified two species, Cytospora oleicola and C. olivarum sp. nov. Pathogenicity studies conducted in mature olive trees cvs. Manzanillo and Sevillano showed both species to be pathogenic and able to cause vascular necrosis and cankers in olive branches. This study adds to the current knowledge on the etiology of olive twig and branch dieback and provides new important information for the development of effective control strategies against canker diseases affecting olive in California.

Chemical, physical and morphological properties of biochars produced from agricultural residues: Implications for their use as soil amendment

Biochar is a pyrogenous organic material resulting from the pyrolysis of organic residues, which is attracting the interest from researchers and farmers for its potential to sequester carbon and its use as soil ameliorant. Pyrolysis conditions and feedstock determine the properties of the biochars produced. In order to understand the relationship between these variables we analysed in detail the physical, chemical and surface characteristics of biochars produced from three contrasting agronomic residues abundantly generated in South Spain, such as rice husk (RH), olive pit (OP) and pruning remains of olive trees (mainly composed of olive branches and leaves; OB), using a temperature range from 350 to 600 °C and residence times from 0.5 to 4 h. High pyrolysis temperature (600 °C) and time resulted in the greatest pH and C content in the biochars. In general, elemental composition and ash content were dependent on the type of organic waste used as feedstock. 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and thermal (TG-DSC) analyses showed that temperatures ≥500 °C are needed to achieve a high degree of aromatization of the chars. Micro-computed tomography and field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed that the structure of RH was preserved during the pyrolysis process, favouring a greater porosity for these biochars. These data are very useful for the production of stable biochars obtained from residual biomass, maximising the value of residual biomass resources. These biochars show physical and chemical properties, such as adequate pH, high water retention capacity or high porosity, of interest for their use as soil amendments.

‘Punks in Vegas’: Punk rock and image repair

At their 2018 headlining appearance at the annual Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival in downtown Las Vegas, NV, California skate punk stalwarts NOFX generated widespread controversy after band members quipped about the mass shooting that occurred eight months prior during the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival in neighbouring Paradise, NV. After days of censorious media coverage, which prompted Stone Brewing to summarily terminate the band’s sponsorship contract in a widely circulated news release, the band issued a statement in which members collectively expressed remorse and apologized for the offending comments. Four decades of punk history notwithstanding, NOFX’s decision to apologize and offer mea culpas is something of a unicum. Punks, after all, are not typically in the business of extending olive branches or tendering requests for forgiveness. Accordingly, punk apologia is an understudied and undertheorized area of research. Utilizing Benoit’s Theory of Image Repair, this article adds to the limited stock of available research by critically evaluating the apologetic discourse following NOFX’s comments in Las Vegas through a systematic examination of the band’s letter of apology as well as audiences’ responses to that statement.

Culture-Dependent and Culture-Independent Characterization of the Olive Xylem Microbiota: Effect of Sap Extraction Methods.

Microbial endophytes are well known to protect host plants against pathogens, thus representing a promising strategy for the control of xylem-colonizing pathogens. To date, the vast majority of microbial communities inhabiting the olive xylem are unknown; therefore, this work pursues the characterization of the xylem-limited microbiome and determines whether the culture isolation medium, olive genotype, and the plant material used to analyze it can have an effect on the bacterial populations retrieved. Macerated xylem tissue and xylem sap extracted with the Scholander chamber from olive branches obtained from two cultivated and a wild olive genotypes were analyzed using culture-dependent and -independent approaches. In the culture-dependent approach using four solid culture media, a total of 261 bacterial isolates were identified after performing Sanger sequencing of 16S rRNA. Culturable bacteria clustered into 34 genera, with some effect of culture media for bacterial isolation. The cultivated bacteria belonged to four phyla and the most abundant genera included Frigoribacterium (18.8%), Methylobacterium (16.4%), and Sphingomonas (14.6%). On the other hand, in the culture-independent approach conducted using Illumina MiSeq 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing [next-generation sequencing (NGS)] of the xylem extracts, we identified a total of 48 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to five phyla, being Sphingomonas (30.1%), Hymenobacter (24.1%) and Methylobacterium (22.4%) the most representative genera (>76% of reads). In addition, the results indicated significant differences in the bacterial communities detected in the xylem sap depending on the genotype of the olive tree studied and, to a minor extent, on the type of sap extraction method used. Among the total genera identified using NGS, 14 (41.2%) were recovered in the culture collection, whereas 20 (58.8%) in the culture collection were not captured by the NGS approach. Some of the xylem-inhabiting bacteria isolated are known biocontrol agents of plant pathogens, whereas for others little information is known and are first reported for olive. Consequently, the potential role of these bacteria in conferring olive tree protection against xylem pathogens should be explored in future research.

Introduction: Peace and English Studies

Introduction: Peace and English Studies Lauren DiPaula (bio) and Tammy Winner (bio) What kind of education will teach the young to hate war? --Virginia Woolf, Three Guineas, (23) Peace is hard work. It is not free. It requires justice, and blood, and determination. It requires love that mostly does not give back. Peace requires fearlessness in the face of conflict. It takes risk. It is sometimes a reckoning with ourselves, when we least want to see who we are. It takes self-reflection, advocacy, and action. We wanted this special issue of The CEA Critic to be a peaceable re-seeing of our study of literature, creative writing, rhetoric, composition, and pedagogy. The essays in this collection offer diverse voices telling us that a re-seeing of ourselves and our discipline is not easy or free or necessarily bloodless. Within our discipline in particular, it is hard work, as literacy education advocate and author, Mary Rose O’Reilley reminds us in her 1984 College English article, “The Peaceable Classroom” and her 1993 book by the same name. O’Reilley searches for a way to make the classroom a peaceable place in an attempt to answer a question that was posed to her, “I wonder if it is possible to teach literature in such a way that people stop killing each other?” (109). O’Reilley’s classroom becomes peaceable in her choice of content, but also in that she respects her students, their agency, and the differences they bring to the subject. As co-editors, we come to our topic seeking different answers: Tammy in search of new ways to help her students become better writers without “bleeding” all over their papers with a red pen, and Lauren in search of ways to better attend to the community of the classroom so that students leave prepared to confront conflict productively. Together, though, we wanted to extend the idea of peaceable to the field, to see how it manifests itself today across the diverse population such as we are. Much like us, the contributors in this issue take different approaches to the study of peace. They analyze, they muse, they argue, they narrate, and they reflect. But they also come together: from new understandings of composition and rhetoric based in social justice, to a musing on the rhetoric of the war story, to a call for more voices to be heard, these essays emphasize that peace, social justice, and grappling with words are all inextricably linked. Artist Sunni Zemblowski’s cover design begins the collection, and it encourages us to meditate on the language and semiotics of peace. [End Page 95] The cover contains three peace symbols against a backdrop of patterns of plants associated with peace: Olive branches, poppies, lavender, and meadowsweet. Zemblowski’s use of these plants further reminds us that the language of peace is more than words, and even more than symbols. It involves all of our senses--the smell of lavender, for instance--and associations--meadowsweet, for instance, was used for weddings and poppies, which represented peace following World War I. In an effort to support our re-seeing of peace, Mary Rose O’Reilley contributed her voice to this issue with two poems, with which we have bookended the issue. The first, “From the Island,” was inspired by the view out of her kitchen window in the midst of the Covid-19 outbreak. O’Reilley’s poem reminds us that we can choose to see the good in every situation--even in a war against an enemy we cannot see or hear. The last poem, “Renga,” invites us to return home in a sense, to be a witness to nature and love (while keeping a safe distance). Bernard A. Miller’s essay “Composition, Decomposition, and the Rhetoric of the War Story” is a poetic and graphic musing on not just the war story but words themselves. He demonstrates how those fighting in war struggle to find meaning in words despite war’s processes of evil, meaninglessness, and decomposition. At the same time, some soldiers and veterans face an absence of meaning in the only thing that can bring about symbolic immortality, composition. This speechlessness compounds the...

The flush development of evergreen recurrent flushing perennials: an experimental overview with insights into the flowering of olive

Recurrent flushing perennials are those that grow by episodic waves of shoot extension under conditions continuously favourable for growth. Here we review the habit for evergreen perennials. The commencement of a new flush appears to depend on the stimulation of buds by plant growth regulators. The determination of a new flush as vegetative or floral most likely occurs during early shoot development. Cool temperatures are usually florally inductive, but other factors such as periods of water stress before flush commencement, and low crop loads may also enhance induction. There is little evidence for the control of the final size of vegetative shoots, and even less for the size of floral shoots. The time between successive flushes is cyclic and temperature dependent. New work with olive is presented and shows that pruning increases the proportions of vegetative shoots to develop from comparable nodes of pruned and non-pruned branches. It also shows that immature vegetative flushes on olive branches in winter inhibit flowering to some extent, a result previously shown for other evergreen recurrent flushing trees.

The Xylella fastidiosa-Resistant Olive Cultivar "Leccino" Has Stable Endophytic Microbiota during the Olive Quick Decline Syndrome (OQDS).

Xylella fastidiosa is a highly virulent pathogen that causes Olive Quick Decline Syndrome (OQDS), which is currently devastating olive plantations in the Salento region (Apulia, Southern Italy). We explored the microbiome associated with X. fastidiosa-infected (Xf-infected) and -uninfected (Xf-uninfected) olive trees in Salento, to assess the level of dysbiosis and to get first insights into the potential role of microbial endophytes in protecting the host from the disease. The resistant cultivar “Leccino” was compared to the susceptible cultivar “Cellina di Nardò”, in order to identify microbial taxa and parameters potentially involved in resistance mechanisms. Metabarcoding of 16S rRNA genes and fungal ITS2 was used to characterize both total and endophytic microbiota in olive branches and leaves. “Cellina di Nardò” showed a drastic dysbiosis after X. fastidiosa infection, while “Leccino” (both infected and uninfected) maintained a similar microbiota. The genus Pseudomonas dominated all “Leccino” and Xf-uninfected “Cellina di Nardò” trees, whereas Ammoniphilus prevailed in Xf-infected “Cellina di Nardò”. Diversity of microbiota in Xf-uninfected “Leccino” was higher than in Xf-uninfected “Cellina di Nardò”. Several bacterial taxa specifically associated with “Leccino” showed potential interactions with X. fastidiosa. The maintenance of a healthy microbiota with higher diversity and the presence of cultivar-specific microbes might support the resistance of “Leccino” to X. fastidiosa. Such beneficial bacteria might be isolated in the future for biological treatment of the OQDS.

Wood Economy in Early Roman Period Jerusalem

In this study we present the identification of several Early Roman (63 b.c.e.–70 c.e.) charred wood assemblages, collected from the “Lower City” of Jerusalem. The results outline elements in Jerusalem’s nearby woody vegetation, characterized by a mosaic of native Mediterranean maquis-forest species and olive orchards, and possibly pine and cypress stands. The arboreal surrounding of Jerusalem supplied the city with pruned olive branches and other types of agricultural refuse to serve as firewood. Local conifers (pines and cypress) as well as imported conifers (cedar of Lebanon), were used for construction purposes. The results further highlight important issues such as social status and importation of wood. The occurrence of prestigious imported tree species within the charcoal assemblage of the Lower City (e.g., cedar, boxwood) indicates the presence of wealthy residences, standing in contrast to prior assumptions that suggest a low social status for the inhabitants within this area.