Enlarged Olive Fruit on 'Manzanita' under Arid Conditions

In recent years,  'Manzanita' olive buyers have rejected fruit that does not reach sizes of at least 9/16 inches. For producers, however, achieving larger olives has been problematic for economic and other reasons. Therefore, the Mexico Goverment Research Center (INIFAP) evaluated the feasibility of using different treatments to increase olive fruit size.  The study was conducted in the Caborca coast, from June to August 2012 on one commercial plantation. Foliar treatments were: 1) Celebrity (organic amino acids more K); 2) Bayfolan (chelated multimineral major and minor elements); 3) Benetizado fertilizer (44–0–0) applied to the ground;  4) ammonium nitrate (33–0–0); 5) olive hand thinning (10 kg/tree); 6) branch thinning; 7) branch girdling; and 8) control (nothing). All treatments were applied twice—on June 4 and June 19—and harvested on August 6–7, 2012. Each treatment was replicated three times. The analysis indicated that olive size significantly increased with Bayfolan treatments, hand thinning, and girdling branches. The other treatments showed no effect on fruit size in reference to control. According to the cost–benefit analysis, treatment with Bayfolan proved to be the best option.