Olive is one of the most cultivated fruit tree species, covering more than 10 million hectares. Olive is cultivated to produce both table olives and oil, with the latter being the main production. The consumption of both olives and oil has doubled in the last thirty years, due to the spread of the Mediterranean diet (defined by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity), of which olive oil is one of the main components, and the recognition of the high nutritional and healthy value of extra virgin olive oil. Increased consumption stimulated an increase in cultivation area and production in both traditionally producing countries and in several other countries, especially in the southern hemisphere.

Given the importance of olive cultivation, considerable progress has been made in recent years in the knowledge of biological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular aspects related to tree growth and production (source-sink relationships), including product quality and tolerance of abiotic and biotic stress. This knowledge is necessary to optimize both the design of new orchards and cultural practices, including pest/disease management, environmental conditions, and production goals. Extensive research has investigated the impact of variety, and environmental and agronomical factors, on the vegetative-reproductive behavior of the olive tree, its tolerance to pests and diseases and fruit/oil quality. In recent years, particular emphasis has been devoted to the conditions created by the climate change scenario.

It can be concluded that considerable progress has been made in understanding various aspects of olive biology, physiology, biochemistry and molecular biology, and the factors affecting all these aspects, including the techniques applied in the field. Despite this, there is no recent book, collection of reviews or other comprehensive work summarizing and synthetizing the recent progress in olive science. This Research Topic aims to compile a collection of papers to review and improve the latest olive research.

Two types of articles are welcome:

1. Review articles on the following themes: i) tree biology, physiology, biochemistry and molecular biology related to source-sink relationships; ii) tolerance to abiotic and biotic stress; iii) fruit growth and metabolism and oil quality; iv) environmental and agronomical factors affecting the biology and physiology of the different organs of the tree and the quality of the product; iv) advancement in techniques for propagation, genotype characterization and breeding; v) innovations in cultural practices.

2. Research articles contributing particularly relevant new knowledge on specific aspects of the same topics covered by review articles.

Each article will be written by leading experts who work on the subject. These experts will be selected by invitation, even though spontaneous submission will also be considered.

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Frontiers in Plant Science

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