WAIMEA OLIVES
FS17 DWARF VARIETY FOR HIGH DENSITY PLANTING
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The Future of the NZ Olive Industry
Over recent years olives have been widely planted throughout many areas in New Zealand. Commercial plantings proliferated from the late 1990’s but most have at best struggled as initial issues relating to choices of varieties and best cultural practices, have given way to one of of profitability.
Olives have traditionally been grown around the Mediterranean region in tree spacing from as much as 18m apart down to 7m. From the early 1980’s tree density has increased as farmers strive to make their olive groves more economical. At present the industry is based around groves with trees planted at densities of between 220 and 500 trees per hectare with the potential to produce between 7.5 to 10 tonnes per hectare after 8 years from planting with good management.
The problems associated with these types of plantings include the long time to wait for full production and harvest costs are expensive whether using trunk shakers, mechanical rakes or experienced hand pickers. And all aspects of dealing with a relatively large tree from pruning to spraying are much less efficient than for smaller trees.
There has been some resistance to the idea of moving away from the beloved traditionally shaped olive tree that has existed for centuries. However there is now widespread agreement that limiting vegetative growth and maintaining tree size to less than 3m just like other fruit crops is the way of the future for commercial olive production.
FS17 Dwarf Olive Variety
FS17 is a Frantoio offspring developed and selected from a breeding programme undertaken by the Italian government in association with its Olive Research Institute at Perugia, Italy, under the guidance of Professor Fontanazza. Both the Professor and the Institute are acknowledged world leaders in olive development. FS17 is protected by NZ Patent # 330335.
Key Attributes
FS17 grows to around half the height of its traditional counterparts, making it much easier to harvest.
It is self fertile, extremely precocious and a prolific bearer when correctly managed.
The non-productive period is very short and fruiting starts in the second year from planting.
Pruning and correct tree training induces an abundance of early fruiting wood rather than generating suckers and sterile branches (this trait is very important for the containment of biennial bearing).
FS17 fruit matures 40 days before that of the Frantoio (while the flowering is contemporary).
The oil content in the fruit is superior by 3% compared to Frantoio. The oil itself is characterized by a pleasantly fresh fragrance with herbaceous notes and high nutritional attributes.
It is easy to grow in many areas, with resistance to cold exceeding that of Frantoio and other traditional Tuscan varieties.
Even in irrigated groves with deep fertile soil, FS17 maintains a low vigour.
Considering these unique characteristics, FS17 is widely accepted as the best variety that can presently be used for high density plantings.
Why High Density Planting?
EARLY RETURNS
Orchards begin yielding early, with an initial harvest in the second year. By the third and fourth year, crops are heavy with full cropping commencing after the fifth full year. A full production year requires the inclusion of a winter to permit bud initiation.
EFFICIENT HARVESTS
By using straddle grape harvesters, expensive manual labour is almost eliminated and harvest time is much faster, which increases the quality of the oil. This option permits growers to maximise the oil volume and quality as large areas can be covered very quickly and synchronised with the processing plant.
GREATER YIELDS
With more trees per hectare, yields are consistently 10-12 tonne/hectare by year five. Olive oil yields of over 150 litres per tonne of olives can be expected. Growers in Australia during the 2005 harvest reported results of over 300 litres per tonne of fruit at the processor.
REDUCTION IN PRODUCTION COSTS
An estimated 60% reduction in production costs are possible compared with traditional groves. Pruning, spraying and harvesting can be carried out with one piece of machinery which can operate at a rate of 5 hectares every 8 hours!
WELL SUITED TO EXISTING VINEYARD PLANTING LAYOUTS
With FS17 plants typically spaced 3.6-4m between rows and 1.2-1.8m between plants, they fit well into existing grape vineyard spacing, light levels and climatic conditions being the key indicators.
Trial Groves
Waimea Nurseries is currently developing Trial Groves of FS17 in Nelson and Hawkes Bay to use for display purposes. These are being developed using best practice growing methods. The groves can be visited by appointment.
Ordering
FS17 will only be grown under Forward Supply Agreements. For availability please contact the nursery. Standard non-propagation agreements are required to be signed by growers.
Other Varieties Grafted on FS17 Dwarf Rootstocks
We are currently trialling the use of the juvenile form of FS17 as a dwarfing rootstock for other Olive varieties like Kalamata, Picholene and Leccino. These are also be available under Forward Supply Agreements.
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