Table 1 – Sensors used in olive groves and monitored parameters Fixed Sensors Soil sensors – Monitoring soil moisture and temperature; – Monitoring electrical conductivity. Dendrometers – Monitoring trunk circumference growth; – Monitoring fruit development; – Detecting signs of stress, particularly water stress. Weather station – Monitoring local weather conditions; –Supporting modelling of pest and disease risk; – Contributing to irrigation management by estimating evapotranspiration; – Integrating data with soil sensors to gain a better understanding of water dynamics. Portable Sensors LI-600 Porometer/Fluorometer (LI-COR®) –Measuring stomatal conductance (CO₂ flux and transpiration); – Measuring chlorophyll a fluorescence, an indicator of photosynthetic efficiency. Dualex (Metos® – Pessl Instruments) – Measuring chlorophyll content; –Determining the polyphenol index and nitrogen balance. Manual measurement and collection of plant material Vegetative vigour – Tree height (crown and trunk) and crown diameter; – Trunk circumference; – RESGEN-COI methodology Yield –Fruit yield (kg/tree); –Maturity index and fat content (% FDM). Wood density –Ratio of volume to trunk biomass; – Elemental C/N analysis of trunks. Nutrition – Foliar nutritional analysis; – Soil analysis. Portable sensor technology offers an efficient alternative to traditional methodologies, reducing the need to collect plant tissue for lab analysis or measurement, thereby leading to a reduction in associated costs. However, it requires field visits and greater operational effort (Figure 10). Remote sensing (satellite imagery) offers greater potential for optimising resources, enabling continuous, large-scale data acquisition with less need for direct intervention. This approach could contribute to a significant reduction in costs and more efficient and comprehensive monitoring of the production system. Outlook and conclusions The adaptation of national olive cultivation to future challenges will depend, to a large extent, on our ability to make the most of plant material. National varieties represent a source of natural genetic diversity and a strategic resource. Through the Breeding Programme, using either open or controlled pollination, we achieve greater genetic diversity. The agronomic characterisation carried out at CPRO, which began in 2012, has been essential for the evaluation of varieties and for identifying materials with characteristics suited to different olive grove management systems. In the very near future, the various fields of biotechnology may make a significant contribution. The olive grove of the future: how to select the best materials for productivity… 97
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