Centennial Olive trees in Lebanon: a substantial patrimony
2014
Chalak, L. | Malas, F. | Hamadeh, B. | Essalouh, Laila | Khadari, Bouchaib
This study aimed to assess the centennial olive trees growing across Lebanon, with theperspective of conservation of the ancient germplasm. The survey indicated the existenceof numerous centennial olive trees distributed in different agro-climatic areas, from 80 to1350 meters altitude across the country. Centennial olives were found in large sizeorchards and scattered as well as in young orchards, road hedges and gardens forornamental purposes. Yet, no reliable information is available regarding the age of thecentennials, but they can considered as 500 to 1000 years old. Among these, only sixcentennials located in Bcheale village in the north of the country at 1000 meters altitudeare considered as “millenials” or “monumentals” by the Ministry of Tourism, while theremaining ones widespread across the countries are still ignored. As a preliminarymorphological characterization of the trees conducted on 292 centennials spread in 48orchards, a large variability was recorded for foot, trunk and central cavity sizes. Principalcomponent analysis showed that foot and trunk circumferences as well as central cavitydiameter were the most discriminating descriptors. Most of the 48 orchards were clusteredtogether in one pool sharing similar traits. The most outstanding orchards were located in10 locations distributed across Lebanon. At the tree level, six single trees located in Northand Mount Lebanon were well differentiated by their large sized foot, trunk and centralcavity diameter. These centennials should be further characterized using morphologicaland agronomical descriptors in order to understand their performance through time and tovalorize them in selection programs.
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