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> The most important aspect of determining harvest date is fruit fall. We
> have described it in our book but it does seem to be too simple for
> growers in Oz and NZ to accept!! They believe there must be a more
> comlex formula based on oil percentage, colour etc.
>
> Cheers Brian Chatterton.

I know this might seem odd, but this is the first time I have ever come
across fruit fall as an indicator or readiness to pick! Can I assume this to
mean that as soon as a proportion of the crop starts to fall off the tree,
you should then pick the entire tree, no matter what the colour of the
fruit?

I found with my Manzanillo that I had some very ripe fruit falling off, but
a high proportion of hard green fruit. I then selectively "thinned out" some
of the blacker fruit and came back for the rest about 3 weeks later. I
didn't seem to make much difference to the remaining fruit.

As for the cultivars and their suitability to oil, I have decided that as I
have 200 Manzanillos which yielded between 6 & 8% oil this season, that I am
now in the pickling olive business, so if anybody is interested in olives
for pickling, and lives within reach of the Hunter Valley, please let me
know. Also Sevillano, Azapa & Hardy's Mammoth next year.

Regards,

Mike Wilson.
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