COMPARING SOME PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF GREEN OLIVE (OLEA EUROPEA L.) IN IRAN ASSOCIATION WITH ECOLOGICAL CONDITIONS

Enhancing the under cultivation area of olive is one of the most important programs of the project of Iran. Per capita consumption of olive stands at 160 grams annually. Due to importance of olive quality and considering some environmental factors, the aim of this research was to determine the physical and chemical properties, fatty acid, mineral and heavy metal contents of green olive fruit cultured in top olive growing regions of the Iran country: Association with ecological conditions. Green olive fruits were collected from 10 different farmlands in Rudbar-Aliabad from Gilan Province And Tarom From Zanjan Province which are considered the most important regions of olive cultivation in Iran . In each location, the chosen cultivars were those predominating in the respective area. The mineral elements and heavy metals: K, Na, Ca, Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Cd contents in olive fruits were measured using an atomic absorption spectrometer. Fatty acids were determined by gas chromatography. According to variance analyses of data, oil rate and most of the fatty acids in olive oil samples were significantly affected by growth location. There was a positive correlation between the locations of growing with the weight of olive fruits (p <0.005). The results showed high levels of Pb and Cd in all olive samples studied. Correlation matrix for lead content shows a highly significant positive correlation among locations and its content. The mean content of lead and Cadmium levels in the 1100 samples analyzed exceeded both limits set for these heavy metals.