| dc.description.abstract |
In the present work we discuss the possibility of breeding olives for suitability to mechanical harvesting. Variability in fruit removal force (FRF), and its correlation with fruit weight (FW) and yield were evaluated in reciprocal crosses of ?Arbequina', ?Frantoio' and ?Picual' cultivars. A wide range of variation was observed for FRF among the genotypes evaluated. A high correlation between FRF and FW was observed but not between FRF and yield. Analysis of variance showed significant differences among years but not among female genitors. Differences among genotypes, irrespective of their genitors, were also found, with the variance due to genotype being higher for FRF/FW than for FRF as dependent variable. Correlations of genotype data between years were significant for FRF/FW but not for FRF. The relatively low correlation values indicated that only some negative selection could be done on the basis of FRF/FW at the first stage of the breeding process, owing to the importance of the environmental variability. A more precise evaluation is needed during the successive stages of breeding, where several replicates per genotype are available. |
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