STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OLIVE ROOT SYSTEM AND SOIL PHYSICAL FACTORS

The purpose of this experiment was to study the soil conditions for olive tree (Olea europaea L.) cultivation. By means of investigation on morphological characteristics of olive tree root-system and the fibrous roots appearing on the soil profiles wall, and by the study of soil properties, it was made clear that the physical properties of soil are the dominant factors affecting the development and distribution of olive tree roots. If there is a condition of compact soil texture with a large amount of rainfall and high temperature during the growing season, the root-system of olive tree will develop into flat root-type.The suitable kind of soil for olive tree roots to grow is one which has more than 40% of sandy particle, less than 30% of clay particle, more than 20% of soil non-capillary porosity, 80-150mm/h permeability and 2.5-4.5kg/cm3 the value of soil compactness.