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<pre>Phil,
I like this discussion group very much, ten years ago I was at the same
point as many others here, but there was no internet yet. It's a great thing
to exchange ideas and knowledge with people on the other side of the world
as if they were around the corner.
For the olive trees it is very important to have much light and air. That is
why traditionally the trees are pruned in the 'open wine glass' form. I have
never seen olives pruned as a hedge and I think this might have to do with
the fact that thus they are more exposed to the cold. Might also have to
with the way olive trees form their fruit, that every now and then you have
to cut also some of the stronger branches to renew them. We normally leave
three to four main branches symmetrically around the tree to "give them
air".
As to the density in the grove, I have planted my trees in a grid of 5x5
meters, so I have theoretically 400 plants per hectare, but it is a bit
narrow to work with my tractor. In reality, due to the form of the land, I
have only 1080 plants on 3.5 hectares. The recommended grid is 6x6 or, in
groves with monocone trees, also 3x6. The cost for 3x6 is much less than
planting them on the double surface (also for irrigation, working the soil
and fertilising) . Of course the harvest during the first 10 - 15 years is
much higher (not exactly twice as much) than with 6x6. At a certain point of
growth they start to enter in concurrence with each other for space, light
and nutrients and that's the moment to cut every second tree. Seems brutal,
but studies say the overall performance is positive.
If you don't want to do this, 6 x 6 should be a good solution, minimum 6x5
which allows about 330 plants per hectare. The more they are distant, to
more soil has to be worked (and fertilised) and also harvesting times raise.
The growth in production is not proportional to this. 8x5 seems excessively
large to me. The ideal would be to have very long rows of 6 m width that
allow you to go ahead with the tractor without having to return too often.
Volker

> Message: 4
> Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 09:01:03 +1000
> From: "Phil Bramley" <bramleyp@one.net.au>
> Subject: RE: "Mike Wilson" soil exhaustion
>
> Volker thanks for those observations.
>
> With wine grapes we are learning that canopy management is very important
> for quality fruit i.e. the more open your canopy the more sun can get into
> the fruit and therefore the fruit ripens more evenly. Could we use those
> same principles for olives.
>
> You may have noticed that olive fruit hidden inside the tree are less ripe
> than those on the outside, which are moreexposed to the sun. Could we
train
> olive trees like a hedgerow ? It this principle is correct then can we
plant
> our olives trees closer together.
>
> Planting olive trees on an 8 x 5 metre grid does not allow many trees in a
> hectare - roughly 250 trees.
>
> Regards
>
> Phil
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<pre>Volker, I would suspect that the Internet will have a profound effect on
learning and enable groups, to share new and accumulated knowledge about
many subjects. The learning curve is no longer such a steep climb!

I think the 8x5 planting was purely for the sake of mechanical harvesting.
Olives Australia suggests this as optimal planting for harvesting and,
without any other experience in olives, we have followed this advice.

An interesting TV program on Australian television the other day described
the fortunes of a small olive growing family and how they have grown to
become a major player in the industry here. Essentially they formed an
association with other growers in a rural district and together they grow,
press and market under one banner. They have recently installed a heavy duty
Alfa Laval continuous press and the oil produced seems to be of very high
standard. Also of interest was the unusual climate condition for this last
season and how it had affected the oil yield of their olives. The olives
themselves were very fat and juicy but alas with not much oil content!
Apparently they received record summer rainfall close to harvest and this
affected the oil content of their fruit significantly. Global warming and El
Nino (or is it La Nina) seem to be the culprits. Has a change in the
climate affected your area in any way?

Regards

Phil
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