Summarizes the information available on current pruning techniques and and training systems. It specifically addresses the problems faced by growers, professionals and students who are new to olive growing.

This bestselling manual is the definitive guide to olive production in California. This 180-page manual is fully illustrated with 40 tables, 19 line drawings, and 36 charts, and 100 color and black and white photos. The most notable additions to this edition include a new chapter on deficit irrigation, a greatly expanded chapter on olive oil production, and coverage of four new pests, including the olive fly. Includes production techniques for commercial growers worldwide - from orchard planning and maintenance to harvesting and postharvest processing. Contains information on pollination, pruning for shaker and vertical rotating comb harvest, mechanical pruning, deficit irrigation, mechanical harvesting methods including trunk-shaking and canopy contact harvesters, postharvest handling and processing methods, and olive oil production. Also includes information on new pests including olive fly, oleander scale, olive mite, and black vine weevil.

This manual provides detailed information for growers on production issues, plant nutrition, economics, pest and weed control, management of olive wastes, the conversion process, and organic certification and registration. Using this manual you'll learn about orchard site selection considerations, irrigation needs, terrain, temperature, soil, damage from the olive fruit fly, and how these may vary for table fruit versus fruit for oil production. You'll also learn how to evaluate harvest methods an important consideration as harvest costs typically amount to half the total production cost for olives. This manual has been developed as a supplement to the Olive Production Manual, 2nd Edition. Organic growers are advised to consult both publications as they develop and refine their production systems.

A witty and warm-hearted memoir of abandoning fast-paced American days in favor of discovering the Italian secrets of food, community, and life. Moving across the globe meant Michelle Damiani soon found herself untangling Italian customs, delighting in glorious regional cuisine (recipes included), and creating lasting friendships. From grandmothers eager to teach the ancient art of pasta making, to bakers tossing bread into fiery ovens with a song, to butchers extolling the benefits of pork fat, Il Bel Centro is rich with captivating characters and cultural insights. Throw in clinking glasses of Umbrian red with the local communists and a village all-nighter decorating the cobblestone streets with flower petals; as well as embarrassing language minefields and a serious summons to the mayor’s office, and you have all the ingredients for a spellbinding travel tale. Exquisitely observed, Il Bel Centro is an intimate celebration of small town Italy, as well as a thoughtful look at raising a family in a new culture and a fascinating story of finding a home. Ultimately though, this is a story about how travel can change you when you’re ready to let it. With laugh-out-loud situations and wanderlust-inspiring storytelling, Il Bel Centro is a joyous and life-affirming read that will have readers rushing to renew their passports. “This is one of the most beautiful book I’ve ever read.” “I absolutely couldn’t get enough of this book.” “This book made me want to pack my bags.” “I loved, loved this book. Fabulously written, engaging, and entertaining.” “A magical read.”

The olive tree (Olea europaea L.) is a very important plant in terms of oil-producing crops in the Mediterranean basin. As reported by Zohary and Hopf (1994), olives probably originated in the Eastern region of the Mediterranean area. All of the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean area used the olive tree and its olive oil, which was also integrated into the religious practices of all the known religions of the region with implications of peace, fertility, strength and purification. Nowadays, the olive trees have spread to many countries in the world and adapted to the varied microclimates that characterize the different areas. The cultivation of the olive tree has expanded in Asia, America and Oceania due to the promotion of olive oil as a product with both nutritive and beneficial effects on health. Currently, the world olive fruit production is around 19 million of tons, of which 90% is consumed as olive oil and 10% as table olives. The beginning of this book is devoted to the historical roots of olive oil production, in order to produce a picture of the ancient empirical olive cultivation and Italian institutions that have allowed the scientific and technological knowledge of olive cultivation to prosper from the eighteenth century to the mid-20th century. Olive tree biodiversity is estimated to have more than 1,200 cultivars, which is a very wide germplasm. In one of the chapters of this book, the botanical and historical origin of the olive tree and the morphological and genetic methodologies applied to identify the olive cultivars are examined. Moreover, the importance of preserving the large olive tree germplasm to avoid the loss of cultivated biodiversity is mentioned. The importance of the germplasm collections, their management and enhancement are reported in a chapter in terms of the strategies for the ex situ conservation of plant genetic resource. Development in the world of olive groves requests not only the choice of suitable germplasm for the different environments, but also the production of olive plants in the nurseries. A chapter describes the most important propagation techniques such as grafting and cutting, and in particular the micropropagation that may represent a thriving business for nurseries. The last chapter explores an important aspect of the olive oil production chain, which produces a large amount of by-products like humid pomace and wastewater. These by-products have represented for several years an environmental problem due to the presence of high polyphenolic content and minerals. In recent years, a new approach is taking into account strategies and technologies for the valorization of these by-products, which would be transformed from waste materials to resources.

The only single-source reference on the science of olives and olive oil nutrition and health benefits Olives and Olive Oil as Functional Foods is the first comprehensive reference on the science of olives and olive oil. While the main focus of the book is on the fruit’s renowned health-sustaining properties, it also provides an in-depth coverage of a wide range of topics of vital concern to producers and researchers, including post-harvest handling, packaging, analysis, sensory evaluation, authentication, waste product utilization, global markets, and much more. People have been cultivating olives for more than six millennia, and olives and olive oil have been celebrated in songs and legends for their life-sustaining properties since antiquity. However, it is only within the last several decades that the unique health benefits of their consumption have become the focus of concerted scientific studies. It is now known that olives and olive oil contain an abundance of phenolic antioxidants, as well as the anti-cancer compounds such as squalene and terpenoids. This centerpiece of the Mediterranean diet has been linked to a greatly reduced risk of heart disease and lowered cancer risk. Bringing together contributions from some of the world’s foremost experts on the subject, this book: Addresses the importance of olives and olive oil for the agricultural economy and the relevance of its bioactive components to human health Explores the role that olive oil plays in reducing oxidative stress in cells-a well-known risk factor in human health Provides important information about new findings on olive oil and lipids which reviews the latest research Explores topics of interest to producers, processors, and researchers, including the fruit’s chemical composition, processing considerations, quality control, safety, traceability, and more Edited by two scientists world-renowned for their pioneering work on olive oil and human health, this book is an indispensable source of timely information and practical insights for agricultural and food scientists, nutritionists, dieticians, physicians, and all those with a professional interest in food, nutrition, and health.

Due to the adverse stress conditions typical of olive cultivation in desert conditions, the olive tree is responding with production of high levels of antioxidant substances. Among these substances are polyphenols, tocopherols, and phytosterols. Studies have shown that saline irrigated varieties of olives have demonstrated advantages over those irrigated with tap water. This is just one of the aspects of desert cultivation of olives that is covered in Desert Olive Oil Advanced Biotechnologies. Based on 20 years of research, the book expounds on the appropriate selection of olive varieties with high productivity and oil quality, the impact of foliar nutrition on decreasing alternate bearing and increasing fruit quality, improving efficiency of mechanical harvesting, and increasing efficiency of oil extraction and oil quality regulating analysis. - Addresses olive cultivation methods for semi-arid environments - Focuses on intensive cultivation using saline and municipal waste recycled irrigation water and their significant impact on the production and nutritional value of olive oil - Integrated and multidisciplinary approaches providing a comprehensive view of the desert olive industry - Provides key considerations including ecological, biotechnological, agricultural and political impacts

Olive tree products provide a number of documented presentations of the production and quality of the two most important olive tree products: virgin olive oil and table olives. It is a source that familiarizes readers with recent approaches and innovations that can be introduced in the virgin olive oil extraction and stabilization technology and the preparation of table olives with emphasis on the presence of bioactive constituents. It also describes advances in the methods of checking authenticity and in the evaluation of attributes that may influence consumers' perceptions and preferences. Other topics discussed are squalene, a trove of metabolic actions, pigments, geographical indication, biotechnology in table olive preparation, and recovery of hydroxytyrosol from olive-milling wastes.