KHODERI OLIVE CULTIVAR AS AN EFFICIENT POLLINISER FOR SOME FRENCH AND ITALIAN OLIVE CULTIVARS

The research was conducted in 2017 and 2019 seasons in Bouka center for research and plant production, Latakia, Syria, in order to investigate the ability of using Syrian olive cultivar Khoderi as polliniser for Tanche , Picholine (French) and Frantoio (Italian) olive cultivars. Pistil abortion (%), pollen germination (%), flowering period, self, open and cross-pollination with Khoderi were studied. Results showed that all cultivars were characterized by good pollen germination ratio. Both season and cultivar affected pistil abortion significantly. The flowering periods were overlapping for all studied cultivars but with some delay of Frantoio . Picholine was highly self-incompatible (ISI= 0.11), while Tanche was partially self-incompatible (0.33- 0.35). The highest self-compatibility was for Frantoio (ISI= 0.52- 0.73). Pollination results showed that using Khoderi as polliniser increased final fruit set over open- and self-pollination for all cultivars and seasons. The results indicated that Khoderi was efficient polliniser for Tanche , Picholine and Frantoio olive cultivars under Syrian Coast conditions.