Elevated fruit nitrogen impairs oil biosynthesis in olive (Olea europaea L.)

Oil in fruits and seeds is an important source of calories and essential fatty acids for humans. This specifically holds true for olive oil, which is appreciated for its superior nutritional value. Most olive orchards are cultivated to produce oil, which are the outcome of fruit yield and oil conten...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ran Erel, Uri Yermiyahu, Hagai Yasuor, Alon Ben-Gal, Isaac Zipori, Arnon Dag
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-06-01
Series:Frontiers in Plant Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1180391/full
_version_ 1827912347749974016
author Ran Erel
Uri Yermiyahu
Hagai Yasuor
Alon Ben-Gal
Isaac Zipori
Arnon Dag
author_facet Ran Erel
Uri Yermiyahu
Hagai Yasuor
Alon Ben-Gal
Isaac Zipori
Arnon Dag
author_sort Ran Erel
collection DOAJ
description Oil in fruits and seeds is an important source of calories and essential fatty acids for humans. This specifically holds true for olive oil, which is appreciated for its superior nutritional value. Most olive orchards are cultivated to produce oil, which are the outcome of fruit yield and oil content. Little information is available on the effect of nitrogen (N) on olive fruit oil content. The response of olive trees to different rates of N was therefore studied in soilless culture (3 years) and commercial field (6 years) experiments. In both experiments, fruit N level and oil biosynthesis were negatively associated. Fruit N increased in response to N fertilization level and was inversely related to fruit load. The negative correlation between fruit N and oil content was more pronounced under high fruit load, indicating sink limitation for carbon. These results agree with those reported for oilseed crops for which a trade-off between oil and protein was proposed as the governing mechanism for the negative response to elevated N levels. Our results suggest that the protein/oil trade-off paradigm cannot explain the noticeable decrease in oil biosynthesis in olives, indicating that additional mechanisms are involved in N-induced inhibition of oil production. This inhibition was not related to the soluble carbohydrate levels in the fruit, which were comparable regardless of N level. These results emphasize the importance of balanced N nutrition in oil-olive cultivation to optimize production with oil content.
first_indexed 2024-03-13T02:15:37Z
format Article
id doaj.art-05b2dcc53ff14dd59e3759df0849c3c0
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1664-462X
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-13T02:15:37Z
publishDate 2023-06-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Plant Science
spelling doaj.art-05b2dcc53ff14dd59e3759df0849c3c02023-06-30T13:17:46ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2023-06-011410.3389/fpls.2023.11803911180391Elevated fruit nitrogen impairs oil biosynthesis in olive (Olea europaea L.)Ran ErelUri YermiyahuHagai YasuorAlon Ben-GalIsaac ZiporiArnon DagOil in fruits and seeds is an important source of calories and essential fatty acids for humans. This specifically holds true for olive oil, which is appreciated for its superior nutritional value. Most olive orchards are cultivated to produce oil, which are the outcome of fruit yield and oil content. Little information is available on the effect of nitrogen (N) on olive fruit oil content. The response of olive trees to different rates of N was therefore studied in soilless culture (3 years) and commercial field (6 years) experiments. In both experiments, fruit N level and oil biosynthesis were negatively associated. Fruit N increased in response to N fertilization level and was inversely related to fruit load. The negative correlation between fruit N and oil content was more pronounced under high fruit load, indicating sink limitation for carbon. These results agree with those reported for oilseed crops for which a trade-off between oil and protein was proposed as the governing mechanism for the negative response to elevated N levels. Our results suggest that the protein/oil trade-off paradigm cannot explain the noticeable decrease in oil biosynthesis in olives, indicating that additional mechanisms are involved in N-induced inhibition of oil production. This inhibition was not related to the soluble carbohydrate levels in the fruit, which were comparable regardless of N level. These results emphasize the importance of balanced N nutrition in oil-olive cultivation to optimize production with oil content.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1180391/fullfruit nitrogenolive oiloil-protein competitionover-fertilizationfruit-load.
spellingShingle Ran Erel
Uri Yermiyahu
Hagai Yasuor
Alon Ben-Gal
Isaac Zipori
Arnon Dag
Elevated fruit nitrogen impairs oil biosynthesis in olive (Olea europaea L.)
Frontiers in Plant Science
fruit nitrogen
olive oil
oil-protein competition
over-fertilization
fruit-load.
title Elevated fruit nitrogen impairs oil biosynthesis in olive (Olea europaea L.)
title_full Elevated fruit nitrogen impairs oil biosynthesis in olive (Olea europaea L.)
title_fullStr Elevated fruit nitrogen impairs oil biosynthesis in olive (Olea europaea L.)
title_full_unstemmed Elevated fruit nitrogen impairs oil biosynthesis in olive (Olea europaea L.)
title_short Elevated fruit nitrogen impairs oil biosynthesis in olive (Olea europaea L.)
title_sort elevated fruit nitrogen impairs oil biosynthesis in olive olea europaea l
topic fruit nitrogen
olive oil
oil-protein competition
over-fertilization
fruit-load.
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1180391/full
work_keys_str_mv AT ranerel elevatedfruitnitrogenimpairsoilbiosynthesisinoliveoleaeuropaeal
AT uriyermiyahu elevatedfruitnitrogenimpairsoilbiosynthesisinoliveoleaeuropaeal
AT hagaiyasuor elevatedfruitnitrogenimpairsoilbiosynthesisinoliveoleaeuropaeal
AT alonbengal elevatedfruitnitrogenimpairsoilbiosynthesisinoliveoleaeuropaeal
AT isaaczipori elevatedfruitnitrogenimpairsoilbiosynthesisinoliveoleaeuropaeal
AT arnondag elevatedfruitnitrogenimpairsoilbiosynthesisinoliveoleaeuropaeal