BELLA CERIGNOLA OLIVE TREE (Table variety) - 9OL22-

Exposure: Sunny and well-sheltered from cold winds. Temperature: Mild Mediterranean climate. Soil: Prefers fresh, well-drained, calcareous clay soils, but also adapts to stony and calcareous soils.
Fertilization: Before planting, it is best to apply a good base dressing of manure and mineral fertilizers. In early spring, it is best to apply a good, complete mineral and organic fertilizer.
Watering: The olive tree grows happily in dry conditions, but lately it has been irrigated to obtain better yields. Watering should be regular, though not abundant (drip or micro-sprinkler), allowing the soil to dry between waterings.
Pruning: Ornamental olive trees are pruned when young, giving them a harmonious shape. Over the years, dry or diseased branches are removed. Production pruning, taking into account that olive trees do not tolerate cuts well, should be limited to eliminating some of the branches that have borne fruit and thinning out the young branches. For table olive varieties, thinning the fruitlets is useful, allowing for larger fruit and limiting alternate bearing. Rejuvenation pruning is common, which consists of renewing older trees by growing new branches in place of the depleted ones.
Harvesting olives: harvesting can be done by hand, shaking the branches and foliage with poles, allowing the fruit to fall onto nets previously spread under the trees. The fruit must be stored in not too thick layers and in a well-ventilated area. The olive tree bears fruit a few years after formative pruning, but the best yields are achieved when the tree is fully grown.
Pests and diseases: the large olive scale insect infests the branches and leaves, sucking the sap and causing the formation of sugary substances that promote sooty mold. The olive fruit fly, in its larval stage, damages the fruit, which shrivels, rots, and falls. Peacock spot, which manifests itself as gray, red spots in the center that then turn brown, causes the leaves to fall and yields are poor. Olive scab forms growths on the branches that swell and lead to the branch's death.