CHANGES IN OLIVE OIL QUALITY OF CHÉTOUI VARIETY ACCORDING TO ORIGIN OF PLANTATION

Chetoui is the second main olive variety cultivated in the north of Tunisia and shows a high capacity of adaptation to various pedoclimatic conditions. The aim of this work was to study changes in oil composition of such variety according to origin of plantation. Thus, olives at the same stage of maturation were harvested from seven regions in the north of the country for oil extraction and analysis. Three consecutive crops from years 2000, 2001 and 2002 were considered. The analytical parameters studied were fatty acid composition, triacylglycerol molecular species and amounts of polyphenols and o-diphenols. The results showed considerable variability in oil composition because of the effect of cultivar–environment interaction.