Understanding olive adaptation to abiotic stresses as a tool to increase crop performance

•This is a review both on the response of olive to abiotic stresses and on new methods to improve crop performance.•The impact of stresses on the biennial olive cycle is first considered.•Then we summarized main morphological traits and physiological mechanisms relate to stress resistance.•Eventually we describe how the obtained knowledge is used to increase the crop performance.

In this work we give an overview of both morphological characteristics and physiological mechanisms responsible for the high adaptability of olive to harsh environments, and how this knowledge is currently used to design new sustainable and efficient crop management practices. We first describe the biennial vegetative and reproductive cycle of olive, and how these are affected by environmental conditions. Then we address main morphological, functional and physiological traits of olive that may contribute to stress tolerance. We also summarize innovative crop management practices that have been developed from our understanding of the mechanisms of response to abiotic stresses.