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Agrology Success Stories: Olive Oil Content Increase

Agrology’s demonstrate the ability of Agrology’s Specialty Plant Nutrition Products to make a difference even from the very first application!

Our aim is to show that Agrology’s Nutrition Programs are a profitable investment for the grower because their economic benefits far outstrip the cost of the complementary applications!

One such Success Story in oil varieties of olives (SS 2018_9_GR) was in cooperation with  the EAS Aegialias Union of Cooperatives; a member of Agrology’s NutriMasters® network, in 2018. Throughout the whole process, the grower benefited from the continuous guidance and support offered by both Agrology’s Technical Department, and EAS Aegialias.

Initially the crop area was divided into two equal plots, that consisted the 2 treatments of the Success Story. One was used as the Control plot, while Agrology’s Program was used in the second. In both treatments, the producer made use of same plant protection and plant nutrition – fertilization program. Agrology’s Specialized and Innovative Nutrition and Fertilization Products application was complementary in the trial plot.

Success Story Goals

The objective of this Success Story was to increase the oil content of the olives.

The Program included the implementation of Specialized and Innovative Plant Nutrition Products, more specifically, Gravital® Force & XGel® Ruby. Moreover, the implementation took place during certain stages of olives growth and the producer to achieve significant agronomic benefits.

General Info of the Success Story

  • Cultivation Period: 2018
  • Location: Amaliada, Ilias
  • NutriMaster® : EAS Aegialias
  • Owner of the Estate: Dalamaras Stavros
  • Cultivation: Oil Variety of Koroneiki, Dry Cultivation
  • Greenhouse Area of the Success Story: 400 ha
  • Plant Protection Program: Common to the whole crop

Special Nutrition Program

Supplementary Implementations with Innovative Agrology Products.

Foliar Product Applications at Specific Vegetative Stages of Cultivation.

1st application: Stage 1. Fruit Growth

  • Gravital® Force: 2 kg/100 lt of water
  • XGel® Ruby (15 – 10 – 50 +3MgO + TE): 300 cc/100 lt of water

2nd application: Stage 2. Color Change

  • Gravital® Force2 kg/100 lt of water
  • XGel® Ruby (15 – 10 – 50 +3MgO + TE): 300 cc/100 lt of water

Besides the above supplementary applications, the farmer applied the same Fertilization/ Nutrition and Plant protection program, in both treatments (Control + Agrology Program) throughout the growing season.

Products of Plant Nutrition Program 

Gravital® Force (2 kg/100 lt): High calcium concentration  (46,0% CaO) and silica (46,0% w/w SiO) with a high percentage of available orthosilicate.

  • Optimal Nutrients Absorption
  • Increase Resistance to Biotic and Abiotic Stress

XGel® Ruby (300 cc/100 lt): Superconcentrated fertilizer rich in potassium

  • Increase of oil content
Picture 1. Application Program - Growth Stage
Picture 1. Application Program – Growth Stage

Beyond the above complimentary applications, the producer applied the same Fertilization/Plant Nutrition and Pesticide program, in both plots (Control + Agrology Program) throughout the growing season.

Success Story Results

The plots were harvested separately, and the oil extractor was meticulously cleaned before each use. The extrusion of the two treatments was in separate mills. Measurements of the yield and oil characteristics revealed the following results.

Oil content was increased by 21.6% compared to the Control (or + 4.35% of oil content):

  • Agrology: 24.50%
  • Witness: 20,15%
Figure 1. Olive Oil content%. With the implementation of the Agrology Program, an olive oil content of 21.6% was achieved, compared to the Control.
Figure 1. Olive Oil content %. With the implementation of the Agrology Program, an olive oil content of 21.6% was achieved, compared to the Control.

Investment – Producer’s Benefit

The 21.6%  increase in olive oil content contributed to the increase of the producer’s income by € 538.20,  when considering the price of  1t oil at the time which was € 2.70 / kg (average olive oil in Ilia € 2.70 / kg – Source: press).

The indicative cost of complementary applications with Agrology’s Specialized and Innovative Plant Nutrition Products amounts to € 290.63 / ha.

Picture 2. Investment - Producer's Benefit
Picture 2. Investment – Producer’s Benefit

Learn more about Agrology Specialty Nutrition Programs from our specialized staff  Here.

This trial was carried out under specific field conditions and should not be replicated without the guidance of an agronomist or the Technical Department of Agrology. In all cases, Agrology products and programs must be applied in accordance with the label.