The European Economic Community (EEC) subsidises the planting of olive trees in otherwise uncultivated land. This accounts for
the number of new olive groves being planted in the region.
The planting strategies are varied, from the very ‘modern’ approach illustrated
below to
traditional groves using a large tree spacing grid, large split wood stakes, and no irrigation.
We found an example of a tree that survived the 1956 freeze in the region. As you can see the central trunk has died and the tree is now fruiting from four branches that re-grew from the remaining stump. This is the predominant form of mature tree in the region. The grove shown is unusual as it is irrigated.
Another interesting grove is at the Fontvielle mill, Moulin a Huille de Bedarridas. Here trees are pruned low to suit hand- harvesting. The mill has been in the Bellon family for 5 generations. Their trees are traditional with a high volume modern processing plant producing the local oil blend of up to seven varieties including salonenque, verdale, piquale, grossane,
and aglandeau. Price for the local oil is 58.6 francs ($AUD 14.60) per litre.
