Influence du site géographique sur les potentialités agronomiques et technologiques de l'olivier (Olea europaea L.) en Tunisie

This study aims at characterization four cultivars of the olive trees, Chétoui, Chemlali, Gerboui, and Chaïbi, cultivated in three different geographical locations, from pomological and technological points of view. The pomological characters of the fruit are influenced by the geographical location. Each individual of the same cultivar expresses different pomological characters. We have noted a significant fluctuation of the flush percentage in three Chaïbi individuals according to their geographical site; it varies from 49.06 to 82.19%. The three Gerboui individuals showed a significant variability of the fruit weight (from 1.13 to 3.17 g). Fluctuations of olive oil contents were also observed. Several fatty acid compositions showed some variation. The oleic and linoleic acid contents varied among individuals from Chétoui and Chaïbi. Moreover, the individuals of the cultivar Chemlali showed a variation of their content in palmitic and palmitoleic acids. Indeed, each individual of a cultivar showed its own potentialities, which are reflected by its pomological and technological characters. According to their geographical location, individuals from a given cultivar displayed diverse potentialities.