PROJECT ON CONSERVATION, CHARACTERISATION, COLLECTION
AND UTILISATION OF GENETIC RESOURCES IN OLIVE
(RESGEN-CT 96/97)

EUROPEAN UNION -INTERNATIONAL OLIVE COUNCIL

METHODOLOGY FOR THE SECONDARY CHARACTERISATION
(AGRONOMIC, PHENOLOGICAL, POMOLOGICAL AND OIL QUALITY)
OF OLIVE VARIETIES HELD IN COLLECTIONS

Carmen del Río y Juan M. Caballero
Departamento de Olivicultura y Arboricultura Frutal
CIFA «Alameda del Obispo », Córdoba
(Junta de Andalucía, España)

INTRODUCTION

     The database that is to be used for secondary characterisation in the RESGEN-CT 96/97 project (European Union-IOOC) has been created to record the results obtained on evaluating the olive varieties established and identified in the participant collections around the world.

     This text describes the methodologies that have to be applied to evaluate the secondary characteristics (agronomic, phenological, pomological and oil quality) of the varieties held in the collections. The object is to unify the criteria for evaluating these parameters. This will help to minimise the differences that the use of different methods of study could cause in the characterisation of world germplasm.

     Different categories have been established for most of the parameters considered. These have been set according to the ranges of variation observed in the species at the World Varietal Bank held at the CIFA “Alameda del Obispo” in Córdoba.