This year 2021 is celebrating the XX Anniversary of Expoliva, so ICL wanted to be present by participating in the round table entitled ‘Innovation and current status in the field of olive tree treatments’, in which Francisco Morell, Agronomy Europe Lead of ICL, has reviewed the aspects of the company’s proposals to improve soil fertility, and improve the sustainability of olive cultivation.
For Francisco Morell, innovation in olive tree fertilization is necessary to be able to adapt to new production schemes, such as organic production or integrated production systems, and to optimize the use of resources and the profitability of the olive grove, thus such as conserving the natural environment and reducing the carbon footprint for oil production.
A green cloak of olive trees that we must take care of
The olive growing areas form an immense green blanket that, throughout the year, that we see change in shades throughout each season. In the Iberian Peninsula, the olive grove occupies almost 3 million hectares, of which practically 2.5 million in Spain and 1.5 million in Andalusia.
To maintain the greenness of this olive grove and its ability to produce oil, several factors are necessary, such as the correct supply of water and having a fertile soil that can provide the necessary nutrients for cultivation. The olive tree, like all crops, takes most of the nutrients from the soil and, in addition, its nutritional needs can be supplemented by foliar applications.
It must be taken into account that the soils in which the olive grove is cultivated are highly variable, from calcareous soils of basic pH in the area of Jaén; acid soils in the Extremadura area; more or less deep soils with greater or lesser capacity to retain water and nutrients; etc. A tool that we can use to get to know our system well, and define the fertilization plan, are soil analysis, although with the uncertainty of the availability of nutrients for the crop. We can also do foliar analysis, to have a diagnosis of the nutritional status of our crop, and plan the long-term fertilization strategy.
In general, in a traditional adult olive grove a contribution is made (between solid fertilizers and fertigation) of between 200 and 400 kg / ha of K (potassium), together with about 100 kg / ha of P (phosphorus), and 100 to 120 kg of N (nitrogen), to which foliar applications are added. To make the necessary adjustments, it is convenient to take into account the results of the soil and foliar analyzes carried out, as well as the agronomic conditions of our plots.
Natural fertilization with Polysulphate
When establishing these fertilization strategies, ICL propose the use of Polysulphate as a source of potassium and as a contribution of secondary macroelements. Polysulphate is a natural fertilizer for conventional and ecological olive trees, which provides potassium, magnesium, calcium, and sulfur in the form of sulfate.
It is important to note that ICL is currently the only global producer of Polysulphate. We are facing a very interesting option both in organic olive groves, since Polysulphate is a natural mineral certified for organic farming and for conventional olive groves both within a ‘blend’ or in a complex fertilizer.
Polysulphate is a fertilizer that has only been on the market for five years, which for a fertilizer is a short time, and in order to evaluate its use in the fertilization of the olive grove, ICL has launched two long-term trials since the beginning of 2021 term, in order to evaluate the response of the crop and the soil to the contribution of Polysulphate.
The first trial is in organic olive trees, in Madrigalejos, Cáceres, with the technical support of CICYTEX. It is an intensive olive tree, in conversion to organic, with a 14-year plantation of the Arbequina variety and a production level between 7-8 thousand kilos of olive / ha, 1200 and 1500 kilos of oil per hectare. In this trial, the Polysulphate fit will be evaluated in the case of conversion from conventional to organic olive groves with three objectives: to maintain the production level; go from a proportion of 20-80 of the fertilizer contribution between solid-fertigation, to 80% of the solid contribution and 20% with irrigation; and finally, improve soil fertility.
The second trial, in conventional olive trees, in the town of Baeza, has been established in collaboration with the International Potash Institute (an international organization with which ICL collaborates) and with the technical and scientific coordination of Juan Vilar y Asociados. It is a 40-year-old plantation, picual variety, with a production level of around 20-25,000 kg / ha of olive, and 6000 kilos of oil per hectare. The use of Polysulphate is being evaluated, within the fertilization plan, as well as foliar potassium contributions, and the response of the crop is being monitored in detail.
These two trials are part of studies that will be carried out for at least the next three years, also evaluating the environmental impact of each strategy and the Carbon footprint of the production of a liter of oil with Polysulphate. In this sense, with Polysulphate we have a good starting point, since the carbon footprint of its production is only 34 g of CO2e per one kg of Polysulphate.
These tests demonstrate ICL’s commitment to continuous innovation in olive groves, a crop where it provides a catalog of efficient and latest generation solutions to improve the management of olive tree fertilization: thus, in addition to Polysulphate, ICL has controlled release fertilizers of the Agroblen range, specially developed to be incorporated into the planting hole, and provide the necessary nutrients for the first months, improving the establishment of a new plantation, to field conditions, and Agromaster, for a safe and secure nutrient supply. optimized for several months. On the other hand, foliar fertilizers from the Agroleaf range, with different nutrient balances for each phase of the crop cycle. Finally, ICL offers a complete range of solid, soluble and liquid fertilizers for fertigation, for conventional and organic olive groves.
Francisco Morell finished his presentation by highlighting that “we need to innovate to adapt to new production schemes, such as organic production, and improve efficiency in the use we make of resources to improve the profitability of the olive grove, and the conservation of the rural environment and natural. Achieving a reduction in the carbon footprint and improving the sustainability of olive oil production are fundamental objectives. And in this context, this is the proposal of innovative products and technologies that ICL offers to achieve it ”.
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