Olive pollination is anemophilous and an adult olive tree can produce large amounts of pollen grains spread in the air during the flowering period. Viability of pollen grains can be checked by using different methods such as cytoplasmic stains, enzymatic reactions or germination. The aim of the work was to verify either if quality and number of pollen grains were similar in 'off' year with respect to 'on' year or differences occurred among olive cultivars. In 2006 and 2007, the viability and number of pollen grains per anther have been investigated in four Italian olive cultivars: 'Ascolana Tenera', 'Cazzinicchio', 'Cima di Melfi' and 'Coratina'. Grains viability was estimated by using three different techniques: acetic carmine, fluorescein diacetate and germination. The three techniques obtained statistically different data, with acetic carmine always showing the highest values but staining also heat-killed pollen grains. Fluorescein diacetate and germination were significantly correlated with a high R2 (0.862). The number of pollen grains significantly varied among the cultivars and between the two years. The average number of pollen grains per anther ranged from 65,722 ('Ascolana Tenera') up to 97,160 ('Cazzinicchio'). A significant difference was detected between the two years for the number of pollen grains per anther, ranging from 98,037 in 2006 ('on' year) down to 70,630 in 2007 ('off' year). The study also showed that the viability (with all the techniques) of the pollen grains was significantly higher in the 'off' year with respect to the 'on' one, with important consequences on the fertilization process

In the past years, near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has been applied to the agricultural industry as a non-destructive tool to predict quality parameters, e.g., ripeness of fruit, dry matter content, and acidity. In two years, 2019 and 2020, berries of four table grape cultivars (Cotton Candy™, Summer Royal, Allison™, and Autumncrisp^®) were collected during the season to obtain spectral measurements and quality data for developing predictive models based on NIR spectroscopy to be practically used in the vineyard. A SCiO™ sensor was used in 2019 for predicting the ripening parameters of Cotton Candy™; in particular, total soluble solids (TSS) (R² = 0.95; RMSE = 0.60, RPD = 13.13), titratable acidity (R² = 0.97; RMSE = 0.40, RPD = 7.31), and pH (R² = 0.96; RMSE = 0.07, RPD = 26.06). With these promising results, in the year 2020, the above-mentioned table grape cultivars were all tested for TSS prediction with successful outcomes: Cotton Candy™ (R² = 0.97; RMSE = 0.68, RPD = 7.48), Summer Royal (R² = 0.96; RMSE = 0.83, RPD = 7.13), Allison™ (R² = 0.97; RMSE = 0.72, RPD = 8.70) and Autumncrisp^® (R² = 0.96; RMSE = 0.60, RPD = 9.73). In conclusion, a rapid and economic sensor such as the SCiO™ device can enable a practical application in the vineyard to assess ripening (quality) parameters of table grapes. Thus, this device or similar ones can be also used for a fast sorting and screening of quality throughout the supply chain, from vineyard to cold storage.

ISHS V International Symposium on Olive Growing VARIETAL BEHAVIOUR ACCORDING TO THE SUPERINTENSIVE OLIVECULTURE TRAINING SYSTEM