The impact of cold stress on two olive cultivars

Olive (Olea europaea L.) is an evergreen tree traditionally cultivated in the Mediterranean area, resistant to some degree to salinity and drought conditions. However, olive trees are not so resistant to low temperatures. In recent years, because of high demands for olive oil and fruit, the cultivation of olive trees has been increased in Iran. Different cultivars of olives have diverse reactions to cold stress and so, the selection of cold resistant cultivars is the most effective method to avoid frost damages. In order to compare the impact of cold stress on the content of total protein, lipid peroxidation and photosynthetic pigments, 1-years old olive cultivars of Sevillana and Frantoio, were exposed to low temperatures of 10, 5, 0, -5, -10, -15, -20 and control 20 °C for 12 h. The results indicated that the both examined cultivars were resistant to 0 °C temperature with no significant damages. The photosynthetic pigments of Frantoio did not change even in -15 °C and malondialdehyde levels slightly increased compared with the control (20 °C). Total protein content in Frantoio showed significant decrease from -10 °C, while in Sevillana cultivar there was significant decline of total protein content from -5 °C. Therefore, it can be concluded that Frantoio is more resistant to cold stress than Sevillana.