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<pre>Brian

Many thanks for your info. I have duly noted your advice regarding the
critical need 'for 150 to 300 hours below 9° C between November and Feb'
for the tree to flower. I imagine your information to be from an
authoritative source, perhaps even from the book that you mentioned.

If the requirement is 'below 9° C' then I reckon I can make the 400 hour
limit. I checked my data and between 1st December '98 and 28 Feb '99 we
had 60 nights where the temperature hovered around the 6°C mark and
below on the farm. The winter days warm up rapidly the moment the sun
comes out and cools down just as quickly once it sinks. Oman is much
closer to the equator so I imagine your friend's winters would be a bit
milder.

To be on the safe side I'd better start brushing up my knowledge on
North African varieties. You also refer to coastal regions. Would that
include places like Crete or southern Greece. I have friends there,
maybe I can get them working on my behalf!

All the best,
Maz


Brian Chatterton wrote:
>
> From: tn7685@orvienet.it (Brian Chatterton)
>
> Another useful book is "Olive pests and their control in the Near East by
> Katsoyannos FAO 1992. The chapter entitled "The olive tree" gives an
> excellent summary of the climatic requirements.
>
> I think your greatest problem will be the need for 150 to 300 hours
> below 9° C between November and Feb. Otherwise the trees will not flower. I
> have a friend in Oman who has some olives and they never fruit. We have
> tried pruning and pollination but (I have not been there) as far as I can
> find out they are not flowering. The trees came from Australia originally
> but no one knows what varieties etc.
>
> I would suggest that look for varieties from North Africa and from
> the coast as they are more likely to need only 150 hours of cold rather
> than the 300.
>
> Cheers Brian Chatterton.
>
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