SCREENING OF OLIVE CULTIVARS FOR SALT TOLERANCE

The tolerance of 26 olive (Olea europaea L.) cultivars to an excess of NaCl in the growing medium was determined in order to screen genotypes for salt tolerance. Rooted olive cuttings growing in 11 pots and pruned to a single shoot per plant were used for the experiment. Treated plants were watered with a nutrient solution and once a week with 250 ml of a 100 mM NaCl solution. Control plants received only the nutrient solution. Relative growth, expressed as shoot length of treated plants as a percentage of that of control plants, was the criterion used for screening genotypes. Forty-nine days after the initiation of treatments the relative growth of salt-treated plants ranged from 16 to 70%, and served to rank cultivars for salt tolerance.