DESIGN & EXECUTION              CONSULTATION & ASSISTANCE 

MAIN CHARACTERISTICS              The Quality of Olive oil producted under the HDS

ASSISTENCE FOR DESIGN AND CompletE EXECUTION OF NEW HIGH DENSITY PLANTATIONS WITH total MECHANIZED HARVESTING  

-       Assistence for Preliminary Study of Territories Soil/Climate with Soil Analysis

-       Assistence for Supervision of Ground Preparation and Subsequent Soil Fertilization 

-       Assistence forcAdvice on Choice of the most Suitable Varieties and Clones for the Estates Ecosystem also for the Quality and Characteristics of the Olive Oil.

-       Assistence for Certified Plants of all Intensive Varieties supplied directly from the relative Nurseries

-       Assistence for Ideal Spacing of the High Density Plantation, according to the different varieties

-    Assistence for Supervision of Mechanical Plantation and Choice of Irrigation System  

Super Intensive Plantations Photo Gallery (click here to open)

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COMPLETE ASSISTANCE FOR TECHNICAL MANAGEMENT OF HIGH DENSITY PLANTATIONS  

-          Assistence in Programming and Control of Irrigation and Fertilization Systems

-          Assistence for Foliar Fertilization for Increased Flowering and Fructification:

         Assistence for Vegetative Recovery, Pre-flowering, Fruit-Setting, Oil-Enrichment.

-          Assistence for Effective Disease (Phytosanitary) and Weed Control

-          Assistence for Management of Various Types of Pruning according to different Varieties

-          Assistence for Complete or Partial Pruning Mechanization

-          Assistence for Technical Management of Harvesting and Labour Requirements.

-          Assistence on the Production of High Quality Olive Oil with Optimised Techniques for Pressing and Extraction

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MAIN CHARACTERISTICS

Origins   Profitability  Mechanized planting   Mechanized pruning  Mechanized harvest    Production    Harvest quality  Diffusion of the System  Varieties 

● Origins

The Super Intensive olive grove is a technology of cultivation of olive trees that took origin in Spain at the beginning of the years 90 and which allows to obtain a considerable increase of the profitability, compared to traditional systems. When the first super intensive olive groves were planted at the beginning of the 90's, there were many unknowns about the new crop model: the duration of plantations, ideal frames, suitable varieties, pruning, fertilization, irrigation, etc. The experience acquired over more than 15 years with the different plantations has made it possible to improve the initial approaches and dissipate many of the doubts the system raised. The keys to the success of the super intensive system reside in: 100% mechanized harvesting with combines; the quick entry into production in the 2nd - 3rd year (in the country), with high output that has been sustained over time; and the high quality of the oil obtained, 100% extra virgin.

● Profitability

The super intensive system has significantly reduced the need for labour not only for the harvest, which in the traditional system amounts to 50-60% of the total costs, but also in other mechanized operations such as pruning or even planting. In short, a very notable increase in profitability and lower dependence on the availability of labour, which is more and more scarce in every country, is achieved.  

● Mechanized planting

It is possible to plant using single or double-line machinery with laser alignment where a pre-emergence herbicide treatment is applied when planting. The plantation output for a team of 5 people is 7000-9000 plants/day.

● Mechanized pruning

The super intensive system allows for a high level of pruning mechanization, thus contributing to significantly reducing operating costs. In the summer, on an annual basis, Topping (cutting the top of the tree) is undertaken at a height of 2-2.5 m and the lower leaves are cut to keep the lower branches below a height of 60 cm. These two types of pruning.

Movie of Mechanized Pruning Superintensive Italian plant - Siena 2014 (click here)

Mechanization (click for the photo gallery)

● Mechanized Harvest

The same riding machines used in grape harvests are suitable for olive harvesting, and these can be available throughout the olive harvesting period. The machines do not need modifications and they harvest up to 98% of the fruit all while causing minimal damage to the fruit and trees. Output can reach 2 hours/ha and harvesting costs range from between �. 0.3-0.6 /Kg. (oil product)  This factor enables breaking the initial image of a system exclusively owned and used on large fields or by large investors and has made it so that super intensive cultivation is one more alternative to be considered by traditional olive growers. The super intensive system requires fields with slopes that are no higher than 20% so the combine can move.  

Mechanized Pruning at the high density plantation - Siena 2013 (click here)

● Production

Entry into production is very rapid as a production of 3-4 T./ha is obtained as early as the third year. The results obtained over these years of experience in the various olive-growing zones show sustained production rates of between 8-12 T./ha. On plantations in warm areas with appropriate crop management, productions of up to 16 T./ha have been obtained.

● Harvest quality

The use of picking machines allows for a quick harvest at the optimal ripening time; the olives do not touch the ground, nor are they damaged and they are immediately taken to processing plants. All of these factors lead to a high quality oil (100% extra virgin) which preserves the characteristic aromas of each variety.

● Diffusion of the System

Today, when they have already spent nearly 20 years since the first plantation production made in Spain in 1994, more than 100,000 hectares all over the world are home to this kind of plantation. This number is quite significant when considering the brief period time that has passed since it was first implemented. More than 50% of the surface area planted using the super intensive system is found in Spain; it is followed by Portugal, Chile, the USA, Tunisia, Morocco, France, Italy, Australia The acceptance of the super intensive system by the international olive oil community is reflected by the new lines of study opened by universities and research centres, the important movement generated on the market by the incorporation of new production countries (Chile, the USA, Australia), the constitution of macro projects, and above all, the large number of small projects begun in the major olive oil regions of the world.

Olive varieties (click for the photo gallery)

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