GO OLIVITECH: Optimization of olive growing through technological and aerobiological analysis

Type Grupo operativo
Status In progress
Execution 2023 -2027
Scope Supraautonómico
Autonomous community Andalucía; Galicia
Main source of financing PEPAC 2023-2027

Description

Increase the effectiveness of phytosanitary treatments applied, reduce the number of these by limiting ourselves to those that are essential and, in this way, increase profitability and sustainability and reduce the environmental impact of farms.

Description of activities

The study will be carried out in Galicia and Andalusia. The varieties under study are Arbequina and Picual, selecting 10 of each. The initial data correspond to a study started in 2020, and the present project will be developed on the same olive groves. A phenological study of the olive tree (Olea europea) will be carried out in order to identify the phases most sensitive to the meteorological variables of temperature, precipitation and humidity.
On-site visits will be made to the olive groves to observe the phases studied. The spores will be monitored using an aerobiological collector based on the volumetric method (similar to human respiration).
A personalized weather forecast will also be provided at the location of each farm in order to calculate predictions of disease risk and changes in phenological state. Finally, the development, adjustment of algorithms, implementation, programming and adjustment of mathematical models for calculating the risk of fungal diseases and the evolution of phenological states will be carried out. For this purpose, all the data collected in the experimental plots will be used.

Contextual description

Aerobiological and phenological studies have proven to be very useful tools for optimising crop production in a wide variety of crops such as olive trees, as they allow for an early approximation of the quantity and quality of the final product, thereby achieving greater efficiency in the organisation of cultural practices in the field or harvesting tasks. The main latitudes where olive plantations are concentrated are mainly between 30 and 40º, both in the northern and southern hemispheres, specifically in areas with a Mediterranean-type climate (Agustí, 2010). Currently, the total area of olive plantations is around 10 million hectares, and based on the estimate that each hectare of olive trees produces around 1 MT, we can say that olive production worldwide is around 10 million tons, of which approximately 90% is used for the production of oil, while the remaining 10% is used as table olives, with Spain being the country with the largest area dedicated to olive cultivation worldwide.

Currently, there are 2.6 million hectares in the country devoted to olive cultivation, both under irrigation (approximately 500,000 Ha) and dry land (around 2 million Ha) (MAGRAMA 2022). Although a large number of olive trees are cultivated in Spain, their distribution across the territory is very uneven, with Andalusia being the community with the largest extension, covering more than half of the surface area of the whole of Spain (1.5 million Ha) and showing very high productivity, resulting in 80% of the total Spanish production (Muñoz et al. 2004). However, olive production in Spain is not limited to this community, and more or less large extensions can be found in other areas such as Castilla la Mancha, Aragón, Galicia, Cataluña, etc.

Currently, according to the 2021 Agrarian Statistical Yearbook, the olive grove data in Galicia reflect a total of 289 hectares of olive plantations and a total production of 314 tonnes of oil, with Lugo being the province with the largest plantation area (220 hectares) and, therefore, with the highest production yield (231 MT), followed by Ourense, with 42 hectares and 49 MT of production, and finally, Pontevedra, with an area of 27 hectares and a production of 34 MT.

Objectives

Optimization of the use of phytosanitary products in olive trees using a computer tool based on the development of fungi, the number of spores and the moment of sensitivity based on the phenological state of the plant.

The aim of OLIVITECH is to optimise phytosanitary treatments in olive groves through an early disease alert system that combines meteorological and phenological data and the presence of the phytopathogen in the environment. To do this, the different phenological phases are being determined in the study areas through field observation and phenoclimatic models that quantify the cold and heat needs that determine the breaking of latency and the subsequent start of the reproductive cycle.

The trends in the phenological parameters obtained will be evaluated to assess the impact that the various climate change scenarios predicted by the IPCC will have on olive cultivation. The project will develop a warning system for possible phytopathogenic fungal infections to optimize the integrated and sustainable cultivation of olive groves, combining the data obtained from phenological models, models for predicting the quantity of fungal spores in the olive grove atmosphere and specific algorithms developed for each area under study, which will allow identifying the opportune moments for possible fungal attacks.

Contact information

Coordinator name: Galician University Business Foundation (FEUGA)
Postal address: R/Lope Gómez de Marzoa S/N - Campus Vida, Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña
Coordinator email: l.carbia@feuga.es
Phone: +34 981534180

Coordinators