Esigenze Minerali e Tecniche di Concimazione - Collana divulgativa dell’Accademia

The productive performance of an olive orchard is strongly affected by the olive grower capacity in choosing, combining, and properly performing the several agronomical practices, such as fertilization, soil management, irrigation, also taking into account their environmental impact. On the other hand, such expertise is taken into consideration by the recent agricultural European Union policy which supports and encourages the use of production technologies aimed to preserve natural resources. Among agronomical practices, fertilization can induce a ready and effective vegetative-productive response in olive tree. A well balanced and appropriate fertilization should take into account some steady points:  real nutrient needs of olive trees along the different stages of plant life cycle;  soil nutrient availability and tree nutritional status;  synchronization between nutrient requirements by the plants (olive trees and, in case, cover crops) and their availability in soil volume where roots are present;  fertilization techniques and their efficiency;  soil management techniques (spontaneous or seeded cover crops, recycling of pruning material within the orchard, use of manure or compost) and water availability linked to natural conditions (rainfall) or irrigation practice. In the present report some practical suggestions for an appropriate mineral and organic fertilization are reported taking into account the different farm management systems