“As early as the 90s, the hedge system of the olive groves began (the superintensive, ed). Although at the beginning it was met with great doubts and not a little resistance, little by little it has demonstrated its great economic advantages: substantial savings in costs and zero labor requirement for the harvest. Furthermore, this system was started with some varieties – Arbequina and Arbosana – which proved to be constant in production and quite adaptable to different climates”.
Thus begins this article prepared by Agromillora Technical Team, a leading company in the nursery sector, and published on Mercacei Magazine 115 which we think is interesting to offer to our readers as well (obviously authorized by the friends of the Spanish olive-oil newspaper).
“However – continues the text – the system has actually brought a disadvantage from the start, as it set out to supply the industry tons and tons of a single type of oil, extracted from approximately 400.000 ha. planted all over the world. As is well known, the profile of the oil produced by a plantation depends on the variety, the soil and climatic conditions and its management, but in general it can be stated that the Arbequina and Arbosana varieties produce sweet, slightly fruity, slightly bitter and spicy oils and stable. Already before the fifth month they have lost most of their polyphenols and, therefore, their stability. We are immersed in a long-distance race that has just begun
Compared to other varieties from which oils of the highest quality are obtained – Picual, Hojiblanca, Cornicabra or Cobrançosa – this negative aspect was its great “Achilles heel”, the great excuse for attacking the super-intensive system. But since a solution arises from every problem, some genetic improvement programs in olive varieties arose in the late 90s at the universities of Córdoba and Bari which, although they initially sought a higher production of EVOO per hectare, eventually provided another great advantage: obtaining oils from traditional varieties such as Picual, Hojiblanca or Cornicabra with the mechanized harvesting model with straddle machines.
The first "descendants" were obtained through natural crossings, applying the pollen of a parental variety to the flowers of the other parent, and then closing that bouquet with bags that allowed the passage of light and air but no other pollen grains … There have been thousands of crosses between parents with required characteristics (Picual, Koroneiki, Leccino, Coratina, Ayvalik, Frantoio, Arbequina, Arbosana…), of which only four or five can be sure that they can be developed, but undoubtedly there will be dozens that will emerge in the next few years.
Thus, the crosses of Arbequina x Picual of the UCO (Sikitita-1, Sikitita-2 and Martina); those of Arbosana x Leccino or Arbosana x Koroneiki of the University of Bari (Lecciana and Coriana); and those of Todolivo's program of Arbosana x Koroneiki and Arbosana x Sikitita (I-15 and I-99) are some of those that shine the brightest today. But many others will come after them: those of the University of Florence, those of BALAM Agraria, etc.
And the chosen ones are…
Each variety has its own characteristics and, as has been said, the same variety behaves differently in different climatic, soil or management conditions, even on the same farm but in different years. And although it takes many years to draw strong conclusions, small tests have been carried out since the beginning of the new century all over the Mediterranean, in California or in Chile which allow us to make some affirmations:
Sikitite: mother Arbequina and father Picual, is a variety of controlled vigor, similar to Arbequina. Constant in production, it stands out especially in rainy conditions, providing a slightly more stable EVOO than those of Arbequina and Arbosana, being similar in tasting to them.
lecciana (in the picture) : variety with Arbosana mother and Leccino father, relatively vigorous – it can surpass Arbequina – and early harvest, which shows its best version in support irrigation, drought, ecological conditions, cold climates or fragile soils, distinguishing itself from the others. From it we obtain a very rounded extra virgin olive oil, complex on an olfactory-gustatory level and with polyphenols to ensure good stability.
Coriano: mother Arbosana and father Koroneiki, low vigor and good branching, it develops very well under irrigated conditions and good management which can feed its great capacity to generate oil. It is distinguished by its high fat yield – which it reaches in a relatively short time – and its bitter and spicy oil is ideal for reviving other oils with flatter profiles.
I-15: from the same parents as the previous one (Arbosana x Koroneiki) but with different results, it is a very fruity and productive variety both in irrigated and dry land that offers very promising productions. Harvested early, its vigor and way of vegetating facilitate training and pruning actions.
Sikitita-2: cLike its older sister, it derives from the crossing of Arbequina x Picual, exhibiting a similar vigour, but providing a different and more stable oil – due to its higher polyphenol content – and obtained after a very early harvest, even before lecciana and sikitita.
Final reflection. The hedge today represents no more than 6% of the world surface of olive groves, but already generates about 30% of EVO oil. At the rate that plantations have followed over the last 10 years, it is not unreasonable to think that it will soon account for more than 50% of the EVO oil produced in the world and, why not?, even up to 70%. Do we really think that all this oil will correspond to one type? It is evident that many other varieties suitable for straddle machines are needed to offer multiple oil profiles so as to satisfy the demands of a market accustomed to traditional varieties such as frantoio, coratina, picual, hojiblanca, etc. In short, we are immersed in a cross-country race that has just begun".
