Influence of spacing on the initial production of hedgerow Arbequina olive orchards

Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA) Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research 2007 5(4), 554-558 Available online at www.inia.es/sjar ISSN: 1695-971-X Influence of spacing on the initial production of hedgerow ‘Arbequina’ olive orchards 1 1 2 3 2L. León *, R. de la Rosa , L. Rallo , N. Guerrero and D. Barranco 1 IFAPA. Centro Alameda del Obispo. Avda. Menéndez Pidal, s/n. 14004 Córdoba. Spain 2 Departamento de Agronomía. Universidad de Córdoba. Campus de Rabanales. Edificio Celestino Mutis. Ctra. Madrid-Cádiz, km 396. 14014 Córdoba. Spain 3 Todolivo, S. L. Ingeniero Torroja y Miret, s/n. 14013 Cór Abstract A new type of olive (Olea europaea L.) orchard, based on high-density hedgerows harvested by vineyard type straddle- harvesters has appeared in recent years. This system greatly simplifies olive harvesting, which has a high labour demand in standard olive orchards. There are, however, no specific low-vigour olive cultivars or dwarfing rootstocks adapted to this system, as exist in other fruit crops. It is therefore crucial to select the optimum density for maximum production without causing serious competition problems. In this study we present initial results of the effect of densities, ranging -1from 780 to 2,580 olive trees ha , on the production of an ‘Arbequina’ olive hedgerow orchard during the first seven years after planting.