Why Olive Produces Many More Flowers than Fruit—A Critical Analysis
Olive (<i>Olea europaea</i> L.) trees produce many more flowers than fruit. In an “on” year, an adult olive tree may produce as many as 500,000 flowers, but 98% of them will drop soon after bloom as unfertilized flowers or juvenile fruit. This waste of resources that could be better inve...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Horticulturae |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/1/26 |
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| author | Julián Cuevas |
| author_facet | Julián Cuevas |
| author_sort | Julián Cuevas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Olive (<i>Olea europaea</i> L.) trees produce many more flowers than fruit. In an “on” year, an adult olive tree may produce as many as 500,000 flowers, but 98% of them will drop soon after bloom as unfertilized flowers or juvenile fruit. This waste of resources that could be better invested in fruit reaching maturation requires an explanation. Several, not mutually exclusive, hypotheses explaining the possible significance of heavy flowering followed by massive and premature flower and fruit abscission are analyzed and compared based on previously published works and recent observations on olive reproductive biology. The results suggest that olive trees selectively abort fruits to enhance the quality of the seeds in the surviving fruits. Additionally, a considerable proportion of flowers appears to contribute to the male fitness of the plant by increasing pollen export. Conversely, the hypotheses attributing to resource limitation, pollination deficits, pollinator attraction, or extra flowers functioning as an ovary reserve, must be rejected for explaining the ultimate functions of massive flower production. Implications for olive orchard management are discussed. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f3e81a3d6771430896d04c8ab6258bc0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2311-7524 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Horticulturae |
| spelling | doaj-art-f3e81a3d6771430896d04c8ab6258bc02025-01-24T13:34:30ZengMDPI AGHorticulturae2311-75242025-01-011112610.3390/horticulturae11010026Why Olive Produces Many More Flowers than Fruit—A Critical AnalysisJulián Cuevas0Department of Agronomy, ceiA3, CIAIMBITAL, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, SpainOlive (<i>Olea europaea</i> L.) trees produce many more flowers than fruit. In an “on” year, an adult olive tree may produce as many as 500,000 flowers, but 98% of them will drop soon after bloom as unfertilized flowers or juvenile fruit. This waste of resources that could be better invested in fruit reaching maturation requires an explanation. Several, not mutually exclusive, hypotheses explaining the possible significance of heavy flowering followed by massive and premature flower and fruit abscission are analyzed and compared based on previously published works and recent observations on olive reproductive biology. The results suggest that olive trees selectively abort fruits to enhance the quality of the seeds in the surviving fruits. Additionally, a considerable proportion of flowers appears to contribute to the male fitness of the plant by increasing pollen export. Conversely, the hypotheses attributing to resource limitation, pollination deficits, pollinator attraction, or extra flowers functioning as an ovary reserve, must be rejected for explaining the ultimate functions of massive flower production. Implications for olive orchard management are discussed.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/1/26<i>Olea europaea</i>massive floweringfruit abortionpollinator attractionpollination deficitsmale function of flowers |
| spellingShingle | Julián Cuevas Why Olive Produces Many More Flowers than Fruit—A Critical Analysis Horticulturae <i>Olea europaea</i> massive flowering fruit abortion pollinator attraction pollination deficits male function of flowers |
| title | Why Olive Produces Many More Flowers than Fruit—A Critical Analysis |
| title_full | Why Olive Produces Many More Flowers than Fruit—A Critical Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Why Olive Produces Many More Flowers than Fruit—A Critical Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Why Olive Produces Many More Flowers than Fruit—A Critical Analysis |
| title_short | Why Olive Produces Many More Flowers than Fruit—A Critical Analysis |
| title_sort | why olive produces many more flowers than fruit a critical analysis |
| topic | <i>Olea europaea</i> massive flowering fruit abortion pollinator attraction pollination deficits male function of flowers |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/1/26 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT juliancuevas whyoliveproducesmanymoreflowersthanfruitacriticalanalysis |