Search Results (427)

This study assessed the potential of Oleaster leaves as a valuable cosmetic ingredient by comparing aqueous and hydroalcoholic ultrasound-assisted extracts of Oleaster leaves to those of the Olive tree. The hydroalcoholic Oleaster leaf extract showed a higher content in phenolic and flavonoid compounds, with an oleuropein and verbascoside content of 58 mg/g of dry leaves and 3.2 mg/g of dry leaves, respectively. To refine the comparison of their molecular composition, the extracts were analyzed using UHPLC-HRMS/MS. About twenty compounds, including secoiridoids, flavonoids and triterpenic acid derivatives, were annotated in both extracts, demonstrating their similarity. DPPH, CUPRAC and enzymatic SOD assays showed a good antioxidant activity with high inhibition (60–90%) for both Oleaster and Olive tree leaf extracts. The hydroalcoholic extracts at 62.5 µg/mL also exhibited 60–80% of protection against reactive oxygen species (ROS) in H₂O₂-stressed HaCaT cells, confirming this antioxidant capacity without demonstrating a severe cytotoxicity, which remained below 40%. The anti-inflammatory potential of the extracts was also demonstrated using COX-2 inhibition, which was around 70%, and by measuring the concentration of IL-8 in HaCaT cells under pro-inflammatory conditions, which decreased in the presence of extracts at a concentration of 50 pg/mL, similar to that observed for the positive control. Thus, the hydroalcoholic ultrasound extract of Oleaster leaves demonstrated its high potential to develop sustainable and active cosmetic ingredients. Full article

Intercropping medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) with olive trees provides significant economic and ecological benefits in Mediterranean agroecosystems; however, belowground competition for water and nutrients often limits understory plant development. Therefore, the main aim of this two-year field study, conducted in Kilis, Türkiye, was to evaluate the effects of black polyethylene mulch on the vegetative growth and essential oil characteristics of lavender (Lavandula x intermedia) and rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) cultivated as intercrops between olive rows. The results demonstrated that black polyethylene mulch application significantly enhanced lavender’s vegetative growth, substantially increasing average fresh (1665.5 g for mulched vs. 785.0 g for non-mulched control) and dry biomass (783.5 g for mulched vs. 403.0 g for non-mulched control), plant height (83.37 cm vs. 63.42 cm), and canopy diameter (89.03 cm vs. 71.85 cm) compared to the non-mulched control. Furthermore, lavender essential oil yield improved significantly (5.40% vs. 4.09%), with linalool (30.22%) and camphor (12.69%) identified as the major volatile compounds. For rosemary, mulching positively impacted plant height (42.50 cm vs. 35.00 cm) and shoot length (28.65 cm vs. 22.62 cm), while maintaining a stable essential oil yield (0.40% on average) composed primarily of camphor, eucalyptol, and α-pinene. In conclusion, mulching emerges as a highly effective agronomic practice for mitigating resource competition, promoting vegetative growth, and optimizing essential oil production—particularly for lavender—thereby increasing the sustainability and overall productivity of olive and MAP intercropping systems in semi-arid environments. Full article

Climate change is progressively altering the thermal environment of European agriculture, with direct consequences for high-value perennial crops such as olive (Olea europaea L.) and grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.). Although the Growing Degree Days (GDD) index is widely applied to characterize crop thermal requirements, no systematic evidence exists on the actual GDD values accumulated at the locations where these crops are currently grown across Europe. This study introduces a “reverse agroclimatology” approach that anchors GDD calculations exclusively to olive grove and vineyard areas identified in the Corine Land Cover (CLC) dataset for five reference years (1990, 2000, 2006, 2012, and 2018), using ERA5-Land reanalysis daily temperature data as the climatological input. For each CLC reference year, GDD was computed for olive cultivation (T_base = 7 °C, January–May) and viticulture (T_base = 10 °C, April–October) exclusively over registered cultivation pixels, and per-country means were subjected to linear regression trend analysis (p < 0.05). For olive cultivation across 11 Mediterranean countries, statistically significant positive GDD trends were detected in 7 countries, with long-term (1985–2023) country means ranging from 476.2 GDD in France to 1214.3 in Cyprus, indicating that we can revise the known GDD thresholds. The first appearance of olive cultivation in Slovenia’s 2012 CLC dataset, with a median of 546.5 GDD, provides land use-mapped evidence of a spatial displacement of cultivation boundaries. For vineyard cultivation across 22 European countries, significant positive trends were identified in 18 countries, with warming rates reaching 19.25 GDD yr⁻¹ in Turkey, 15.83 GDD yr⁻¹ in Albania, and 14.89 GDD yr⁻¹ in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mediterranean and Balkan vineyards already exceed the classical 2000 GDD threshold of viticultural suitability across all reference years. In contrast, central and northern European registered vineyards operate below it, though their warmest sites are increasingly approaching or crossing it in the most recent periods. The cultivation-anchored GDD framework, built on openly available data and a fully reproducible R-based pipeline, provides a practical and updatable tool for monitoring the evolving thermal conditions of European olive and wine production under ongoing climate change. Full article

Olive, Olea europaea L. (Oleaceae), cultivation is affected by significant yield losses caused by Palpita persimilis Munroe (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), a defoliating pest in South America. Its control currently relies on synthetic pesticides, which have adverse environmental effects. This study investigated native entomopathogenic bacteria isolated from the rhizosphere of olive trees in Tacna, Peru. A total of 36 bacterial isolates were obtained, of which six strains showing more than 70% larval mortality were selected for further evaluation. Morphological and molecular analyses suggested a tentative affiliation of the isolates with bacterial groups related to the genera Lysinibacillus, Paenibacillus, Priestia, and Bacillus. Bioassays demonstrated that larval mortality depended on the bacterial concentration and exposure time. Strains such as Peribacillus sp. UNM achieved 100% larval mortality after 96 h at a concentration of 1 × 10⁹ CFU mL⁻¹. Analysis using a generalized linear model (GLM) with a binomial distribution confirmed that bacterial strain, concentration, and exposure time significantly influenced larval mortality, indicating that mortality responses varied according to bacterial concentration and exposure time. These findings provide preliminary laboratory evidence of entomopathogenic activity associated with native bacterial isolates against P. persimilis and support future investigations aimed at evaluating these isolates under field conditions in olive agroecosystems. Full article

Ancient olives are considered a major resource of gene pool, adapted across ages to ever changing environments. The ancient ‘Mehras’ olive is the only cultivar inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Of Humanity as recognized for its longevity and historical significance. However, detailed genetic and phenotypic analyses are still missing. Nineteen ‘Mehras’ accessions were collected from northern Jordan and subjected to inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) marker analysis and to a set of phenotypic parameters (leaf, fruit, and stone). ISSR analysis revealed similarity values ranging between 0.53 and 1.00, indicating moderate to high genetic diversity. Bayesian clustering and dendrogram analyses identified two major genetic clusters with limited admixture, indicating extended clonal propagation in addition to the transport of planting material. Phenotypic parameters revealed tangible variation among accessions, with major influence of fruit and stone traits followed by leaf traits. Strong correlations were observed between key traits, including fruit width and flesh thickness, while an inverse relationship was observed between flesh and stone percentages. Multivariate analysis further revealed clear separation among investigated accessions. The Mantel test showed a moderate correlation between genetic and phenotypic distances. Spatial analysis suggested weak geographic structuring of diversity, indicating exchange of plant material. ‘Mehras’ olive harbors structured genetic and phenotypic diversity influenced mainly by adaptation and traditional cultivation practices. These findings provide a foundation for conservation, breeding, and sustainable utilization of this ancient and culturally significant cultivar. Full article

The carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.) is a typical tree of the arid Mediterranean, and its cultivation contributes to the sustainability of local agroecosystems. In recent years, the economic and environmental importance of the carob tree has grown due to its use as a raw material in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. It also plays an ecological role in conserving biodiversity and promoting sustainable agricultural systems by improving cultivation and mechanization strategies. Currently, national carob groves are facing competition from other more profitable crops such as olive, citrus, almond and horticultural systems. This has led to the marginalization of carob cultivation in several Mediterranean rural areas and increased the need to modernize and mechanize harvesting to enhance the potential of carob and its derived products. This study aimed to investigate the physical characteristics of the fruit (weight, length, width and fruit detachment force) in relation to the degree of ripeness, with the objective of providing useful information on the optimal harvesting period and introducing semi-mechanical harvesting systems. Full article

This paper examines the impact of the 1923 Turkish–Greek Population Exchange on the urban and architectural heritage of Tirilye, a historic coastal settlement in Bursa, Türkiye. The study addresses how migration-related transformations shaped both the tangible and intangible dimensions of heritage, focusing particularly on traditional houses and their adaptive reuse strategies. The research aims to identify patterns of continuity and transformation in residential architecture and to interpret population exchange heritage as a multi-layered cultural process. The study adopts a qualitative multi-method approach combining literature review, archival research, field surveys, architectural and typological analyses, and oral history interviews. The monuments and twenty-eight traditional houses were comparatively analysed at urban and building scales in terms of plan organisation, façade typology, construction techniques, and functional transformation. The findings demonstrate that Tirilye largely preserved its historic urban fabric despite demographic rupture. Traditional houses retained many original spatial and architectural characteristics while adapting to new social and economic conditions. The study reveals a hybrid architectural nature combining the effects of various living traditions and highlights the continuity of production-related spaces associated with olive cultivation and sericulture. The paper proposes understanding population exchange heritage as a dynamic process shaped by continuity, adaptation, reuse, and collective memory. Full article

Early and reliable detection of plant diseases is critical for sustaining agricultural productivity and reducing economic losses. In olive cultivation, peacock eye disease poses a significant threat by adversely affecting leaf health and crop yield. While deep learning models have demonstrated strong performance in plant disease detection, their reliance on high-dimensional feature representations often leads to increased computational cost and limited deployability in real-world agricultural settings. This study proposes an efficient and robust olive leaf disease classification framework that integrates deep feature extraction, devised composite filter-based feature selection, and ensemble learning. Deep features are extracted from olive leaf images using transfer learning with ResNet101 and MobileNet architectures. To address feature redundancy and computational inefficiency, multiple filter-based selection strategies—including mutual information, Chi-square, F-score, and five devised composite selectors (score fusion, union, intersection, hybrid, and class-wise filtering)—are employed to generate compact and informative feature subsets of fixed sizes (32, 64, and 128 features). The selected features are evaluated using k-NN, SVM, and LightGBM classifiers under stratified 5-fold cross-validation. Experimental results demonstrate that competitive and near-baseline performance can be achieved with substantially reduced feature dimensionality. In particular, using only 128 selected features, the proposed approach attains up to 0.988 accuracy and 0.976 MCC, closely matching the performance obtained with full deep feature vectors. Furthermore, voting-based ensemble strategies, including iterative majority voting and hybrid GA–BO fusion, further enhance robustness, achieving the highest mean accuracy of 0.9916 among the evaluated ensemble configurations. These findings highlight the effectiveness of the proposed composite filter-based selection and ensemble framework as a practical, lightweight, and accurate solution for olive leaf disease detection, suitable for deployment in precision agriculture and resource-constrained environments. Full article

Spain is the world’s leading producer and exporter of olive oil, with Andalusia being the autonomous community with the largest cultivated area. In recent decades, agricultural practices have followed a trend toward maximizing production without adequately considering ecosystem contamination. Olive groves are, in fact, complex agroecosystems in which thousands of plant species and numerous plant communities have been documented, supporting a rich diversity of vertebrate and invertebrate fauna. Intensive and unsustainable practices have led to a decline in floral diversity and, consequently, in faunal diversity. The aim of this research is to demonstrate the loss of floristic diversity associated with herbicide use. To this end, a comparative analysis of floristic diversity was conducted across 117 plots, contrasting data collected in 2007 with that from the same plots in 2021. From a methodological perspective, an inquiry-based approach was implemented involving students from the Master’s program in Olive Growing, Olive Oil, and Health. Abundance–dominance indices were compared, and the Importance Value Index (IVI) was calculated to assess changes in plant community composition. For instance, Hordeum leporinum exhibited an IVI > 70 in 2007, decreasing in 2021 to values ranging between 11 and 31.58. Similarly, Sinapis alba subsp. mairei showed a decline in IVI from 81.06 to 26.35. A notable result is the greater floristic change observed in plots located on basic substrates where herbicides were applied, compared to plots on siliceous substrates designated for grazing. This issue clearly highlights a lack of knowledge regarding appropriate cultivation techniques that promote sustainable development and social awareness. It underscores the need for educational interventions that foster learning at all levels about agricultural practices, sustainability, and ecosystem services. Full article

The olive tree (Olea europaea L.) is one of the oldest known cultivated trees worldwide and an iconic species within the Mediterranean Basin. This study evaluated the impact of three bacterial strains, Bacillus subtilis D3, Paenibacillus tundrae M4, and Streptomyces tricolor HM10, on the mortality of the following four mite pests: Oxycenus niloticus, Tegolophus hassani, Aceria olivi, and Tetranychus urticae. B. subtilis D3 confirmed the highest efficacy, causing 91.84–85.36% mortality in laboratory tests and 88.90–84.12% in field trials after five days. In addition, P. tundrae M4 ranked second, achieving 90.49–84.26% mortality in the lab and 87.87–83.81% in the field after one week. S. tricolor HM10 produced 80.06–74.09% mortality in laboratory assays and 76.73–73.36% under the field conditions. Effects on the predatory mites Agistemus exsertus and Amblyseius swirskii were minimal, with mortality ranging from 13.28 to 18.55% in the lab work and 12.46–16.74% in the field experiment. Genome analysis of strain HM10 revealed a biosynthetic gene cluster with predicted terpenes production. Terpenes can cause chemo-osmotic stress and broad membrane-disrupting capabilities. These results highlight the promise of microbial agents for sustainable mite management and provide a foundation for further optimization of bacterial biocontrol strategies. Full article

Olive cultivation represents a key pillar of rural economies and cultural heritage in Mediterranean regions, including western Greece. Despite its socio-economic importance, the sector faces increasing pressures from climate change, market volatility, and technological transformation, while progress toward environmentally sustainable production remains uneven. This study investigates how olive farmers’ perceptions of carbon footprint and climate risks are influenced by their demographic characteristics. Primary data were collected through 402 structured questionnaires distributed to olive producers in the Aetolia–Acarnania region. The sample was designed to represent farmers directly engaged in olive production, ensuring the relevance and reliability of the collected data. The findings, based on descriptive statistics, reveal significant heterogeneity in producers’ perceptions of climate risks and their capacity to respond through sustainable practices. Demographic characteristics appear to play an important role in shaping awareness of carbon footprint and the potential adoption of environmentally responsible farming strategies. These results suggest that sustainability transitions in perennial cropping systems depend not only on technological availability but also on social, informational, and institutional capacities. Strengthening agricultural advisory services, farmer training, and climate adaptation strategies may therefore support the adoption of climate-smart practices in olive cultivation. Furthermore, cooperation and value-chain integration are identified as potentially important mechanisms for facilitating knowledge transfer and supporting the adoption of sustainable practices (e.g., efficient irrigation and optimized input use). However, their contribution to environmental performance and greenhouse gas mitigation cannot be directly inferred from the present perception-based analysis and should be examined in future research using appropriate quantitative or environmental assessment frameworks. Full article

During a study of cyanobacterial colonization on coal ash dumps at the Apatity Thermal Power Plant (Murmansk Region, NW Russia), two strains of Nostoc-like morphotypes were collected, cultivated, and examined using a polyphasic approach. Both strains KPABG–133801 and KPABG–133804 exhibited high similarity in the 16S rRNA gene (99.93%) and identical 16S–23S ITS regions. Phylogenetically, they provided robustly supported affinity to the genus Pseudoaliinostoc, which currently comprises eight species predominantly distributed in Southeast Asia. The similarity of the 16S rRNA gene (95.74–97.25%), the divergence in the 16S–23S ITS rRNA region (18.56–26.28%), and the unique hypothetical secondary structures of conserved helices (D1–D1′, Box–B, V3) strongly suggest that these Arctic strains represent a new species, Pseudoaliinostoc murmanicum, which is described and illustrated in this study. The species forms bright blue-green colonies that gradually turn olive-green with age and is characterized by elongated cells in young trichomes, vegetative cell width of less than 3.2 µm, and the presence of akinetes wider than 3.5 µm. Full article

Olive mill wastewater (OMWW) is a highly polluting agro-industrial effluent characterized by elevated organic load, low pH, and high concentrations of phenolic compounds responsible for its phytotoxicity and dark coloration. In this study, 41 non-conventional yeast strains belonging to the University of Basilicata Yeast Collection (UBYC), were tested for both the oleaginous potential traits and OMWW detoxification capacity in comparison to two commercial oleaginous controls, Yarrowia lipolytica ATCC 46483 and Lipomyces tetrasporus Li-0407. Primary screening in synthetic medium under nitrogen-limited conditions revealed widespread intracellular lipid accumulation. Quantitative analysis showed lipid contents above 20% (w/w) in some strains, with Candida tropicalis AII122 (33.3%) and Pichia manshurica ML-3 (29.4%) exhibiting the highest values in synthetic medium. The cultivation of eight selected strains in synthetic medium supplemented with 15% (v/v) of OMWW reduced intracellular lipid accumulation, with the highest value of 6.48% for the 2R1 strain. Levels of phenol reduction and color removal were highly different among all the analyzed strains, and C. tropicalis AII122 achieved the highest phenolic reduction and decolorization ability. These findings demonstrate that indigenous non-conventional yeasts represent a source of natural biodiversity, supporting sustainable waste valorization strategies based on the use of selected microorganisms within a circular bioeconomy framework. Full article

This article analyzes the scale, fluctuations and geographical distribution of olive (Olea europaea) cultivation in Palestine over 550 years, from the Late Mamluk period (1300–1517), through the Ottoman era (1517–1917), until the end of the British Mandate in 1947. Although olive oil played a dominant role in the diet and the local economy, there is currently no research that measures and quantifies the number of olive trees or the number of villages and towns that cultivated olive trees and produced olive oil. We reconstruct the agricultural landscape with its vast olive groves and examine the cultural history of olive tree farming, the growth of the olive oil industries and their economic role and importance. The earliest figures we have, that are from the year 1596, show that 400 villages cultivated 1,400,794 olive trees. By 1943, there were 6,053,367 olive trees that were cultivated by 644 villages. We found a strong correlation (R² = 0.96, p < 0.01) between the number of olive trees and the number of villages, indicating that olive oil demand and the olive oil industry align with population size. The research data derives from a variety of medieval local chroniclers, as well as diaries by European, North African and Middle Eastern travelers who provide descriptions of olive groves and the olive oil industry. Among the most important sources are the 1596 Ottoman tax registers. The tax registers are the first document that present clear-cut figures on the numbers of olive trees, olive presses and the names of the villages that cultivated olive groves. The main sources for the last period dealt with in this study are the British Mandate maps (1943), which display the acreage of the different crops across Palestine. The data from the maps is supplemented by two modern works on olive cultivation written by agronomists Assaf Goor (b. 1894) and Ali Nasouh (b. 1906) who were born in Palestine and employed by the British department of agriculture. The analysis of data shows that demands of local and oversea markets; the olive oil soap industry, which was based on the local olive oil; as well as competing agricultural crops like sugarcane, cotton and citrus, contributed to a complex economic structure. Olive tree cultivation did not depend on government investment. Olive groves in Palestine were rain fed, and, except for the harvest, they required relatively few working days a year. Hence, moderate policies (low taxation during periods of drought and low yields) adopted by enterprising local rulers and the central British government created a unique and relatively balanced relationship between rulers and farmers, which encouraged olive cultivation and led to a constant increase in the number of olive trees and the development of the olive oil industry. Full article

The large-scale use of compost in arable cropping systems is often limited by the large quantities required to meet the crop’s nutritional needs. Palletization can increase the nutrient density of organic fertilizers and improve their logistical feasibility by reducing storage, transport and application costs. This study evaluated the agronomic and environmental performance of compost pellets derived from pig slurry solids and olive pomace, using them as an alternative nitrogen source for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivated under Mediterranean conditions. A field experiment was conducted during the 2022–2023 growing season, with four treatments arranged in 24 m² replicated plots: an unfertilized control (C); pelletized compost (PSCOP); fresh pig slurry (PS); and mineral fertilization based on monoammonium phosphate and urea (IN). Excluding the control treatment, all fertilized plots received a uniform nitrogen rate of 150 kg N ha⁻¹. Soil chemical properties and nutrient availability (Pext, NH₄⁺-N and NO₃⁻-N) were evaluated at the beginning and end of the experiment, while wheat yield and grain quality were assessed at harvest. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were monitored throughout the cropping season to evaluate environmental impacts. The results showed that the wheat yields achieved with PSCOP were comparable to those obtained with PS, although they remained lower than those achieved with mineral fertilization. Grain quality was not adversely affected by the application of PSCOP. Furthermore, PSCOP resulted in lower GHG emissions than mineral fertilization, with values closer to those observed in the unfertilized control. These findings suggest that pelletized organic fertilizers such as PSCOP may be a promising way to enhance nutrient circularity and reduce reliance on synthetic fertilizers and maintain crop productivity and limit environmental impact in Mediterranean agricultural systems. Full article