Methods for harvesting olive fruit
There are two methods for harvesting olive fruit: the so-called “milking” method and the pole beating method.
In the “milking” method, workers handpick olives from the tree branches; as a result, the olive fruit yields higher quality olive oil as the fruit has not been damaged.
In pole beating, collecting nets are placed on the ground, around the olive tree so that the olives can be collected more easily. It is interesting to note that handpicking the olives from the ground has been done since antiquity.
Of the two methods, the most efficient is that of pole-beating. Nowadays, manual harvesting methods have been replaced to a large extent by mechanized methods and tools such as olive shakers.
Olive trees can be planted from November to February and need to be watered regularly in order for the tree to yield as much fruit as possible.
As soon as the olive fruit is mature, it must be harvested. The primary characteristic that distinguishes immature fruit from mature fruit is their color that turns from green to black. Factors that affect maturation time are the olive variety, the intended use of the fruit as well as a combination of the soil and climate conditions.