Olivicoltura toscana: a La Maliosa per scoprire i segreti dell'olio EVO

At Fattoria La Maliosa, we met agronomist Luigi Antonelli, who shared all the secrets of quality Tuscan olive growing. From pollination to pressing, we followed the production process of one of the world's finest extra virgin olive oils: Tuscan olive oil.

Agronomist Luigi Antonelli and the secrets of quality Tuscan olive growing

THEto La Maliosa Farm, in Maremma, is not only wine And Corino Method. It is also quality Tuscan olive growing and excellent oil derived in part from original varieties and historically rooted in the territory.

The distance of 10-12 meters between the olive trees, the good exposure and the ventilated climate favor a high quality production of EVO oil, certified organic and vegan, with high health value, with a high presence of polyphenols, antioxidants and low acidity.cold extraction completes the work, allowing the oil of the La Maliosa Farm to keep its intact organoleptic qualities.

The historic olive groves at La Maliosa Farm they consist of approximately 180 plants aged 80-100 years, typical Tuscan cultivars such as leccino, oil mill, Moraiolo, horn oak, pendulum.
The young olive groves – approximately 3600 plants in 12.5 hectares – follow the historical plantsFrom the horn oak, a very resistant and uncommon variety, it was decided to obtain a single-variety oil.

The agronomist talks about Tuscan olive growing

We cross the beautiful fields together with theagronomist Luigi Antonelli which shows us how the olives are ripening before the harvest. Maremma, you notice immediately, there is the ideal environment for the production ofoil levelHere, in the historic olive groves, the majority of the plants even retain the original trunk not having suffered too much from severe frosts like those of '56 or '85, not to mention the most terrible, of '29, when the most resistant olive tree was discovered, the horn oak.

Il team della Fattoria La Maliosa durante la raccolta delle olive

in the center the agronomist Luigi Antonelli

Pollination of the olive tree

Luigi Antonelli he explains to us that theolive tree pollination It is anemophilous, occurring through the wind, rarely entomophilous, through insects. If the olive tree pollinates itself it is said compatible, otherwise it is self-incompatible. The type of pollination can be seen from the amount of pollen. In the case of anemophilous pollination, which does not occur, so to speak, surgically, through insects, it is logically necessary more pollen.

If however the olive tree receives the pollen from other varieties production increases. The good agronomist plant strategically one pollinator for every 10 plants like the pendulum or the Maurino, more resistant in low-humid areas.

L'agronomo Luigi Antonelli de La Fattoria la Maliosa in Maremma è specializzato in olivicoltura toscana

Agronomist Luigi Antonelli and the editor of TuscanyPeople

Tuscan biodiversity

For those who want to test the many Tuscan olive variety, in Follonica there is theExperimental Agricultural Company “Santa Paolina” (link), in which the technologist Claudio Cantini cultivates the so-called catalogue fields in which approximately 200 Tuscan varieties of olive trees out of 700 in total in Italy. As a demonstration of our incredible biodiversityHaving a small mill produces many single-varietals which can be tried individually.

As of today there are very few entrepreneurs in Tuscany who manage to generate income from a plot of land planted with olive trees, which is generally considered secondary to the vineyard. Often there is a lack of rational management both from a technical and economic point of view. On the other hand, while the viticulture has been specialized for millennia, the statistical data regarding Tuscan olive growing say that in post-war, in Italy, only the 2% of olive groves they were specialized.

Tuscan Olive Growing: How to Become an Entrepreneur

If an entrepreneur now decided to create a new olive farm starting from scratch, planting, let's say, 200 plants per hectare, by choosing varieties and agronomic methods in a rational way, would employ 7-8 years to achieve a profit, but it could already reach a draw in the fifth. This is a good starting point, it seems to us, for all the new entrepreneurs who would like to try their hand atolive growing.

Another tip is to book plants from the best nurseries, about a year before, so as to also have a check from a phytosanitary point of view.

And then apply yourself a lot in three main processes to obtain quality oil: fertilization, cut And soil cultivation, and, third, the fundamental pruning (even if the olive tree, in itself, has an incredible capacity for self-pruning, drying out the no longer productive parts) in which they will have to bring plants into balance, which will then be maintained with small, frequent interventions.

Olive tree, a resistant plant

Without a doubt a helping hand new entrepreneur the olive tree itself can give it, strong plant, resistant, which if it suffers the big frosts (as the veterans of '85 know well), manages to overcome intense water stress similar to those of last summer or, worse, ofsummer of 2003, using, like very few other plants, even the very little humidity it has available.

The important thing is that it has a minimum water at the end of May, during flowering and, especially in Tuscany, around mid-July, when the pulp begins to swell and the oil accumulates.

The Olivone of Fibbianello

From north to south, the macro-zones most suited for Tuscan olive growing are those in the surroundings of Florence, especially the area that coincides with the Chianti Classico – demonstrating, once again, an ideal terroir not only for the vines – while as regards the Maremma the area of the must be consideredFibbianello Olive Tree (Wikipedia), a thousand-year-old olive tree that grows near the Fibbianello farm (map), to Semproniano, known in the past for its exceptional height and, unfortunately, since 1998, due to the serious arson that struck him. From the series: human madness never ends. Criminals (what else to call them?) they filled the hollow trunk with gasoline and set it on fire.

But not all is lostThere is a part (of the soul, one might say) of the olive tree that never dies, of the real ovules which by remaining young prolong the plant. Consider that before the fire the Olivone could produce on its own even 8 quintals of olives.

Here, in the area of theFibbianello Olive Tree, between Saturnia and Semproniano (map) there is a ideal basin, also thanks to the warm and humid climate, for the cultivation of olive trees: so much so that they are over 20,000. And not only that, fortunately other things also resist the wear and tear of time. 4-5 ancient plants demonstrating how here too the olive trees have found a terroir of choice. So much so that theaverage height of the plants is 10 – 12 meters, definitely above the Tuscan norm.

And what kind of olive tree are you? Write to us.

📍FOR MORE INFORMATION:

👉 Tuscan olive oil: the olive harvest season has arrived.

👉 Oliomio: Giorgio Mori revolutionizes the world of olive oil.

👉 Andrea Perini, the chef of EVO Oil

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