**1. Introduction**

38 Olive Germplasm – The Olive Cultivation, Table Olive and Olive Oil Industry in Italy

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In an agricultural context, olive growing is emerging as a dynamic and interesting topic. The majority of Italian olive growing still requires organic renewal interventions such as farm restructuring and tree planting, varietal conversion, mechanization, technical assistance for the implementation of technological innovations, better organization and contractual weight in product marketing. Therefore, the main objective in this area can be obtained with a more economical management of olive orchards in order to achieve a high production per unit area at lower costs and while respecting the environment. Therefore, current olive growing must be based on two pillars such as the reduction of management costs and the use of cultivation techniques with a low environmental impact. More and more attention is being paid, by the EU, and also by Italy, to environmental sustainability, biodiversity and compliance requirements in agriculture. Indeed, in recent years the EU has issued a set of regulations aimed at environmental protection and enhancement of rural areas by improving the competitiveness of the agricultural sector in order to obtain high-quality products aimed at enhancing the peculiarities of the different territories of origin (PGI, PDO) and protecting agricultural and natural resources. Quality must always be considered a key resource for agriculture, which will enable farms to survive and compete in both Italian and International markets. The cultivation techniques used in olive orchards are directed to preserve and improve the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil (soil preparation and tillage, irrigation, fertilization) and to enhance plant production (training, pruning, fruiting, production and pesticide treatments). The knowledge of olive morphology and biology is a prerequisite for the rationalization of cultivation techniques to improve the quantity and quality of production.

Although the olive tree can be considered a hardy plant and is cultivated in marginal areas, it requires specific cultivation techniques coordinated and integrated with each other in order to exalt their productive potentialities. This is why the wise use of tools such as pruning, irrigation, nutrition and soil management plays an important role in achieving a

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greater vegetative and reproductive plant balance, and cost containment should be the main goal that guides management decisions.

Cultivation Techniques 41

Silty soils have elementary particles of greater dimensions than the clayey ones and, unlike these, they have greater difficulty in reaching a glomerular structure. The lower structural stability of silty soils causes a low macroporosity and a great bulk density, that determine conditions of low aeration, low permeability and water stagnation in the profile. This type of soil is subject to loosening conditions with greater facility in comparison to clayey soils. However, they have a greater tendency to pulverization in the dry state, and the formation

Sandy soils have particles of a diameter between 2 and 0.02 mm; they are characterized by

The Olive tree responds best to soil textures with balanced proportions of sand, silt and clay. Soils that are primarily sandy do not have good nutrient or water-holding capacities, but they do provide good aeration and olives do well, especially when water is available and the crop is properly fertilized to satisfy its mineral requirements. The soil should not contain too much clay to avoid limiting air circulation and to prevent soil management problems. The soil particles should aggregate in granules or crumbs to make the soil porous; this is ensured by sufficient quantities of organic matter and rational soil management to prevent compacting and erosion. Soil is composed of solid particles (mineral and organic matter) of different sizes, usually bound together into aggregates by organic matter, mineral oxides, and charged clay particles. The number and size of pores vary considerably among soils exhibiting different organic matter content, texture and structure and cultivation techniques have a great effect on bulk density and porosity: any management practice that increases organic matter will increase the granular structure of the soil, increase the pore space, and

The Organic Matter (OM) is a complex mixture of organic compounds deriving from metabolic wastes and decaying residuals of plants, animals and microorganisms, at different stages of decomposition. The OM percentage directly influences the structure and chemicalphysic properties of soil in terms of water infiltration and retention, element absorption, particle aggregations, Cation Exchange Capacity (Al3+, Fe3+, Ca2+, Mg2+, NH4+), buffering power, over the nutrient source for the plant. The quantity and nature of OM is highly dependent upon farming practices and climatic conditions and is found as both chemically stable humus (or passive OM) and partially decomposed plants, microbes and animal

Measures to increase the organic content are a very important part of good soil management in Mediterranean regions, especially in order to reduce vulnerability to erosion (European Soil Bureau, 1999). Practical measures are based on the incorporation of organic matter such

Plant availability of organic N is dependent on OM breakdown, which is difficult to estimate. The ratio of total organic carbon and total nitrogen (C/N) is the traditional guide to

as farm-yard manure, cover crops, pruning and processing residues, and soil tillage.

high permeability of rainwater, and fast mineralization of organic matter.

decrease the bulk density (Gisotti, 1988; Giordano, 1999; Hao et al., 2008).

**2.2. Organic Matter and nitrogen ratio** 

the nature of the organic matter present in the soil.

residues (or active OM).

of mud in the wet state.
