Dinamica di crescita dell’apparato radicale di giovani piante di olivo allevate in differenti condizioni di disponibilità idrica del suolo

This research, carried out in a semi-arid Mediterranean environment, is about the annual evolution of the root density values of young olive trees (cv. Coratina) grown in both a well-watered and a dry condition. At the same time we studied the growth dynamics of the under- and above-ground parts of the trees during the vegetative cycle. The irrigated plants, in comparison with those in dry condition, show a larger root density. The necessity of the plants to adjust their root system to a more vigorous canopy grown under a better water condition of the soil explains the root density peak observed through the vegetative rest. The simultaneous study of the growth dynamics of the different organs of the olive trees shows a growth pattern determined by the sink-source competitions established among the under- and above-ground parts through the most important phenologycal stages