Care of the Olive Tree after olive harvesting

During the olive harvest the olive tree suffers and that is why it is vitally important to carry out a restorative treatment, preparing the olive tree for the next campaign.

But what work should be done to the olive tree after the olive harvest?

After harvesting the olives, it is key to carry out a repairing and hardening treatment on the tree.

The machinery used today for harvesting the fruit opens wounds in the olive tree, leaving it more exposed to different pathogens (bacteriosis and tuberculosis), pests such as the repilo, fly, borer or moth. For this reason, it is important to fumigate the plantation to avoid contagion and achieve a stable harvest each year.

On the other hand, it is also important to carry out certain practices to avoid vecería (phenomenon or quality that certain trees have, of generating a large production of fruit one year and reducing this amount the next year). These practices are:

1. Early fruit collection

The olive in the olive tree consumes resources and therefore the sooner we pick that olive, the more time the olive tree has to replenish itself. In this way, if you harvest the olives in the months of October and November, although your yield will be lower, you will achieve greater stabilization of production and the price of the oil will be higher.

2. Early pruning of the olive tree

As with the olive, all branches of the olive tree absorb nutrients. The sooner the branches that are not necessary are removed, the less nutrients they will steal from the olive tree and thus it will be able to dedicate them to the production of the fruit.

The date on which we recommend pruning is just after harvesting and never postpone it beyond the end of January.

3. Fertilizer and irrigation

Whenever weather conditions allow, it is essential to fertilize the farm’s soil during the pre-flowering season.

Irrigation helps the olive tree absorb all the nutrients. It is equally important to maintain the precisely necessary water status until the end of summer. In the next article we will talk about the water needs of the olive grove. https://aceitesmorales.com/en/blog-2/

4. Phytosanitary treatments in the olive grove

To maintain production it is important to help the olive tree with early treatments. This will help give energy to the new shoots that will provide the olive tree with greater capacity to produce olives for the next campaign. However, today ecological practices are widespread and more and more avoid the use of phytosanitary products.

In summary, taking care of the olive tree after harvesting the olives will give us a greater chance of having a better harvest the following year, avoiding harvesting… If the work is carried out within the established deadlines, the olive tree will not lack what is necessary to so that it can develop a greater number of new stems, flower production and fruit consolidation.