Journal July 4, 2014 - Taggiasca olive in vitro

This is a photo taken on 7/4/14 of a single node Taggiasca olive explant that was placed in vitro on 6/15/14.   I am finding that different varietals seem to respond differently.  Then again, it could also be what the plant was doing at the time the explant was taken.  It seems that the larger the immature nodes is, the faster the explant responds.

As a test, an explant was taken from a Manzanillo olive and placed in vitro.   When the explant was taken, the node was very immature; it has been at least two weeks since the test began and the explant is still alive, however no growth is evident.

Contrary to what one might expect, the olives in the greenhouse are hardly growing at all with all of the summer sun and heat.  They seem to put on spurts of growth in the late winter, early spring and fall.  They certainly are a challenge to grow.