They are located in the municipality of Menfi in the “Abate” and “Feudotto” districts and are located in lands with “DOP Val di Mazara” certification and in the IGP area. The Sicilian Region is third, after Puglia and Calabria, for the quantity of olives produced and, in particular, the area “DOP Val di Mazara” offers a great variety of exquisite oils, with an intense fruity-herbaceous aroma, heritage of the “Nocellara del Belice “,” Biancolilla “and” Cerasuola “from which intense mono-varietal and blended oils are createdThe cultivation of olive groves begins in November each year with an “open pot” type pruning. It is a hemispherical shape similar to an umbrella that the plant assumes spontaneously, especially in the southern areas. With the “open pot” type of pruning almost all the branches of the central part are eliminated, thus preparing the production on the external branches, also to facilitate the collection operations directly from the ground.
We recall that the term pruning means all those interventions that serve to regulate the vegetative development and fruiting of the plant. The pruning, therefore, assumes a fundamental importance in all the cultivated plants and is an indispensable practice. In the olive grove the pruning has the purpose of:
- improve production efficiency by regulating the growth of branches and maintaining a high ratio between leaf area and quantity of branches;
- improve photosynthetic efficiency through a higher leaf surface and better exposure of the leaves to light;
- allow a better aeration of the foliage with the possibility, therefore, to limit the presence of some parasites such as scale insects, fungi and bacteria.
After pruning, the cultivation continues throughout the year with targeted treatments and with the classic tillage until July when the suckers that are born from the trunk or the pedal are eliminated.
