Genotypic effect on leaf mineral levels of 17 olive cultivars grown in Greece

The aim of the present work was to determine the leaf mineral concentration of 17 olive cultivars ("Adramitini", "Amygdalolia", "Amphissis", "Chondrolia Chalkidikis", "Cordal", "Frantoio", "Karydolia", "Kothreiki", "Kalamon", "Kolovi", "Koroneiki", "Lianolia Kerkirasi", "Megaritiki", "Manzanillo", "Patrini", "Tsunati", "Vasilikada") grown in northern Greece. Leaf samples (blades+petioles), were collected from the median position of non-bearing shoots every 2 months and analysed for N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn and Zn. The greatest N concentration was recorded in leaves of "Adramitini", "Frantoio" and "Megaritiki". The leaves of cvs. "Amphissis", "Kolovi" and "Cordal" had the least N concentration. The highest P concentration was present in "Megaritiki", "Frantoio" and "Chondrolia Chalkidikis". The K concentration of the leaves of all the cultivars was low (0.5-0.9%). "Frantoio" and "Kothreiki" were the most efficient concerning leaf Mg concentration, while "Adramitini" "Patrini" and "Manzanillo" had very low Mg concentration in their leaves. In respect to Ca "Kolovi", "Koroneiki" and "Frantoio" had the greatest concentration, while "Adramitini" the smallest. All the studied cultivars had low Zn concentration in their leaves, while the most Mn efficient were "Amygdalolia", "Cordal" and "Tsunati".