Olive Cultivation in Pakistan
The olive, known by the botanical name Olean Europaea, meaning "European olive", is a species of small tree in the family Oleaceae, found in much of Africa, The olive tree, Olea Europaea, is an evergreen tree or shrub native, to the Mediterranean, Asia and Africa. It is short, squat and rarely exceeds 8-15 m in height. The Pisciottano, a unique variety comprising of 40,000 trees found only in the area around Pisciotta in the Campania region of southern Italy often exceeds this, height with correspondingly large trunk diameters. The silvery green leaves are oblong, measuring 4-10 cm (1.6-3.9 inch) long and 1-3 cm (0.39-1.18 inch) wide. The trunk is typically gnarled and twisted.
The small white, feathery flowers, with ten-cleft calyx and corolla, two stamens and bifid stigma, are borne generally on the previous year's wood, in racemes springing from the axils of the leaves. The fruit is a small drupe 1-2.5 cm (0.39-0.98 inch) long, thinner-fleshed and smaller in wild plants than in orchard cultivars. Olives are harvested in the green to purple stage. Canned black olives may contain chemicals (usually ferrous sulfate) that artificially turn them black. Olea Europaea contains a seed commonly referred in American English as a pit or a rock, and in British English as a stone.
Agro-Climatic, Nutritional and Other Requirement for Olive Cultivation: A deep fertile soil and temperatures averaging 50°F but not going below 14°F are desirable. Irrigation is often necessary although the plant bears drought to a great extent in irrigated areas. Olive trees need winter rest for 60-80 days to differentiate flower buds and an average temperature of 7°C. About 500-1000 hours are required in the winters depending upon the cultivars. The maximum absolute temperature should not exceed 20°C during November to February. It can tolerate gradual drop of temperature up to -10°C for a short period. The best olive production and fruit quality occurs in areas having mild winter and long warm dry summer. The neutral and light saline soils with 5% clay particles are suitable for the olive with the best soil pH range 5.6-8.5. It should not be less than 6 and more than 8. The plant requires nitrogen but Boron deficiency could cause a serious problem during its growth.
Land Preparation:
Soil should be well ploughed before plantation of olive. Pits of size 2.5 X 2.5 feet should be dug a month before plantation. It should be filled with Matti : Bhal : FYM at ratio of 1:1:1.
Planting Time: Trees can be planted during spring and fall. However fall is best if there is no likelihood of frost during winter.
Planting Geometry:
Trees are planted in square with equal line to line and plant to plant distance. 6x6, 7X7 or 8X8 meter distance yields best results. There may be 80 to 110 trees in an acre.
Irrigation Requirements: Although Olive is a hardy tree, yet it requires timely irrigation during the early two years. In Barani areas annual rainfall should be between 400-500 mm. If it does not rain, trees should be irrigated twice or thrice in a year.
- Before Flowering
- After Flowering
- 30-45 days before fruit maturing
Fertilizer Requirement:
Phosphorous + Potash at rate of 300 + 200/ Hectare at time of land preparation, repeated after 3-4 Years. Fertilizer requirement from sowing to flowering is given as below.
Harvesting of Fruit:
Olive fruit matures during August to September. Harvesting is accomplished by following methods: Picking singly: Good quality oil, expensive mode shaking branches and collecting of dropped fruit
Mechanically: Machine grips trunk and shakes branches, 80% harvesting.
Preparation of oil:
Fruits are harvested during October when these are purplish, later on these are mechanically crushed to get oil.
Management of Insect Pests and Diseases Attacking Olive Tree and Fruits:
Pesticide recommended for the management of Insect pests and diseases are given below:
Need for Olive Cultivation in Pakistan
The total domestic consumption of edible oil is around 1.9 million tones, out of which 1.3 million tone is being imported from abroad. As many as Rs 28 billion are being spent on the import of edible oil every year. The total production of banola oil is around 450,000 tones, sunflower 77,000 tones, canola 32,000 tones and other seeds are 700 tons per year in the country. Hence, 70% oil is being imported against local production of 30%.
Bookleat
http://atd.ztbl.com.pk/Documents/Publication/Brochures/zaitoon_ki_kasht.pdf
