In this episode of AgroTroia's "Success in Agriculture" program, the AgroTroia team met at the grove of grower Hüseyin Çolak, who owns 500 olive trees in the village of Bayırlı in the Düziçi district of Osmaniye. Alongside the grower, who has worked with AgroTroia for about 10 years, were Ömer from the regional dealer Dinamik Tarım and the company's agricultural engineers. At the center of the conversation was the right olive nutrition program and grove care for sustainable olive yield.
Olive Growing in Düziçi Today
Across Osmaniye in recent years, sloped and arid lands where combine harvesters cannot operate are increasingly being converted to olives. Production in the region is largely oriented toward olive oil; because table olives and cooperative organization are weak, farmers are forced to sell their produce to traders. According to the engineers, while olive oil fetches around 230-240 lira per liter on the market, traders in the region buy at around 160-170 lira, which seriously reduces the grower's earnings. Add to this the inadequacy of water sources, the sloped and rugged terrain, and tight planting spacing, and the challenges of olive growing increase.
Another problem in the region stems from habits: uniform fertilization, ancestral practices, and mistaken beliefs such as "if I spray for the fly, there will be more flies" suppress yield. Yet as production increases, so does the farmer's earnings.
Breaking the On-Year/Off-Year Cycle
The most frequently heard saying in olives is "on-year, off-year"; that is, one year abundant, the next year low yield. AgroTroia engineers emphasize that this cycle can be broken with nutrition applied at the right time and regularly. Hüseyin Çolak relates that he has experienced this firsthand over his 10 years of practice: the previous season, deep pruning was done to rest the grove and no crop was taken that year; this season the tree has recovered and come back into bearing. The grower says that compared to his neighbors who do not use AgroTroia products, a marked yield difference has emerged between them, and that in terms of cost this difference is very significant.
The point the engineers underline is this: the aim is not just to get a high crop one year, but to obtain a regular and homogeneous fruit set every year. For this, the grove must be approached in a programmed way.
Applications from Post-Harvest to Early Spring
The starting point of the program is the post-harvest application. To prevent infection from entering through the wounds formed during harvest and to ripen the fruit buds on the shoots in a healthy way, a coating application with Copperas is performed. Because disease and pest pressure is high due to the region's humid and damp character, this area needs twice as much careful attention compared to other regions. This application ensures the tree goes dormant homogeneously and wakes up simultaneously in spring, reducing fertilization deficiency.
In the early spring period, the copper-based Copperas application comes into play again; the phosphoric/phosphite ion in its content provides protection against fungal infections. Because peacock spot, one of the region's biggest problems, peaks at 18-22 degrees, intervention is essential before the disease appears. For this reason, at least two to three applications are recommended until the budding period. The engineers also remind that the applications should be sprayed onto the fallen leaves and the soil as well, because the infection remains in the soil.
From Bud to Flower and the Summer Period Struggle
During the budding period, calcium is given to strengthen the stalk; the stronger the stalk, the better the fruit set. Alongside the Calcio application, Copperas is repeated. Because the cotton pest and moth damage appear during this period, pest control should not be neglected. Toward flowering, Activo and a mixture containing gibberellic acid and seaweed are applied; the seaweed minimizes the temperature difference between day and night, easing the fruit-set declines caused by excessive heat in recent years. In the Ceyhan and Osmaniye region, this step has become critical because plant physiology has changed with climate change.
As summer progresses, peppercorn-stage fruit drop is one of the biggest problems. A two-stage application is performed against this problem: in the first stage New Olive, Combi and Aminado; in the second stage, with the dosage reduced (New Olive at half dose), Copperas is given again. Adding amino acids in high heat relaxes the plant. Then comes the fight against olive fly and stalk fungus; it is noted that these diseases are almost never seen in regularly treated groves. In the later period, the program is completed with applications containing potassium and Vital.
Correct Pruning and Soil Management
Alongside nutrition, care mistakes also reduce yield. Because verticillium wilt and branch canker are common in the region, the area around affected trees should not be tilled, and pruning tools should be disinfected with bleach; otherwise the disease is carried from tree to tree. On the soil side, the region's calcareous, high-pH soils reduce the effectiveness of fertilization. For this reason, it is recommended to emphasize sulphur-based fertilizers to lower the soil pH. Correct pruning, disinfection, and soil amendment are complementary steps that multiply the efficiency of the nutrition program.
AgroTroia products featured in this episode
- Copperas — post-harvest and early-spring copper-based protective application.
- Calcio — calcium source that strengthens the stalk during budding.
- Activo — application that supports fruit set during flowering.
- New Olive — olive-specific nutrition against peppercorn-stage fruit drop.
- Combi — mixture used in the peppercorn-stage drop application.
- Aminado — amino acid supplement that relaxes the plant in the hot period.
This grove in Düziçi is a living example of how well-timed nutrition and careful tending can eliminate the on-year/off-year cycle in olives. In the grove, where the water source fully came online this season, peacock spot, verticillium, and branch canker are not seen; the shoots have reached 20 centimeters, preparing a strong start for next season. The engineers' summary is clear: high and continuous yield with low inputs is possible only with programmed nutrition and conscious grove management.
Source: AgroTroia – "Success in Agriculture" program, sponsored by AgroTroia.