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olive

 

Member profile details

 

IDENTIFICATION

Common Name
olive
Photo #1
Scientific Name
Olea europaea L.
Family
Oleaceae
Spanish Name
olivo
Species Description
Olive trees produce small fruit with a single seed, which may be consumed after pickling, or extracted for oil. Tree or shrubby tree of small to medium height; crown is rounded but uneven. Natural growth tends to be dense with multiple trunks originating from the base; must be trained through pruning to form a tree. Olives trees are evergreen with leaves persisting 2-3 years. Leaves simple, entire, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate or elliptic, margins smooth, distinctive central vein, grey-green in color, waxy covering adapted to dry conditions. Flowers borne on inflorescens on year-old wood. Trees have both perfect and staminate flowers. Fruit small, round to elliptoid form, considered a drupe or stone fruit.
 

NATURAL / CULTURAL HISTORY

AZ Native or Introduced
Introduced to Arizona
Natural Range
Originated in the Mediterranean.
Cultural-Historic Notes
Olive stones have been found in archaeological sites from 9000 BCE, but cultivation occurred from 3000-4000 BCE. Olive cultivation and oil extraction were well established in ancient Greece. Olive cultivation spread with the Roman Empire. Olive trees were disseminated to the Americas during the Columbian Exchange. They were planted by early Spanish missionaries in Mexico and the U.S. Southwest and California.
 

GROWTH FORM & RATE

Growth Form
  • Tree
Tree or Understory
Tree
Other Growth Characteristics
  • Evergreen
Growth Rate
Slow
Canopy Diameter
30 feet
Tree Height
30 feet
Lifespan
500+ years
Years to Bearing, if nursery tree is 1-2 years old; grafted
2-3 years
Chill Hours
100-300 hours
Freeze Tolerance
Olives are frost tolerant to 20 degrees F. If temperatures drop lower they will suffer stem damage, and trees will be killed to the ground if temperatures drop to 10 degrees F. Young trees will be killed if temperatures drop below 25 degrees F.
Site, Micro-Climate, and Growing Considerations
Olive trees grow best in full sun, in climates with a long, hot growing season and winter of at least 3 months, with temperatures of 35-60 degrees F. Olive trees in colder areas should be planted in the lee of the coldest winds.
Appropriate Arizona Elevation Categories
  • MID DESERT: Tucson, Ajo, Safford, Casa Grande - USDA Zones 9a-9b (20-30ºF)
  • LOW DESERT: Phoenix, Lake Havasu City, Yuma - USDA Zones 9b-10a (25-35ºF)
USDA Interactive Plant Zone Map for Arizona
 

WATER

Relative Plant Water Use
  • Medium: 20-35 inches / year
Post-Establishment Irrigation Needs
  • 2 X Month in Growing Season
Notes on Species-Specific Water Needs
About 1 inch of water per week during the growing season.
 

CARE

Pollination
Wind pollinated, rarely by insects. Flowers self pollinated or cross pollinated depending on cultivar. Check before planting if only one tree is planned.
Soils
Olive trees do not tolerate wet winter soils, and grow best in well-drained, sandy soil. Soil pH of 5.5-8.5 is ideal.
Propagation
Propogate leafy stem cuttings under mist with rooting hormone. Rooted cuttings are used without specific rootstocks.
Pest & Disease Control
The two most common diseases of olives are peacock spot and olive knot. Both can be controlled by applying a fixed-copper fungicide. The worst insect pest is the olive fruit fly. The fly lays an egg in the olive and the larva tunnels inside. The fruit is then worthless for table use and the damage tolerance for oil is around 10 percent. There are a number of effective controls available, such as setting traps and using sprays. Black scale is common and harmful to olives and citrus. Can be reduced by pruning trees to allow more air flow.
Pruning Notes
Prune when young to have a single trunk with strong scaffold branches. Prune trees during the bloom period in spring. To reduce alternate bearing, remove more shoots from trees with heavy bloom and skip trees with light bloom. High-density olives are usually pruned in an open center "vase" shape. The trees are allowed to grow unpruned for the first four years and then they are opened up in the center with the removal of a few good-sized branches. This allows sunlight to penetrate the center of the tree and to lower the canopy to make harvesting easier.
 

HARVEST & PROCESSING

Edible Parts
The olive harvest usually starts in mid- to late-October and can continue into the new year. Traditional harvesting methods involve combing fruit out of trees or beating branches with sticks to induce fruitfall and collecting olives from tarps spread beneath trees. To assist hand harvest, devices such as pneumatic rakes and mini-shakers may be used. For curing, harvest when fruit is still green, just before the straw yellow stage. For oil, harvest when the fruit has turned black on the outside, but the flesh is still green/yellow. Good fruit, harvested at the right time and processed promptly, makes good oil. The moment an olive leaves the tree, it begins to deteriorate. Fruit should be processed within 24 hours, sooner if possible. Olives that are left in bins or piles for too long begin to compost, heating up inside the pile and deteriorating quickly.
Harvest Months
  • October
  • November
  • December
Harvest and Processing Guide

Copyright November 2022

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PO Box 65122, Phoenix, Arizona 85082-5122


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