Varieties and Olive Grove Production Systems

In Morocco, more than 90% of olive orchards are dominated by the ‘Moroccan Picholine’ variety, but according to the National Bureau of Food Product Health Safety Office (ONSAA) and the National Agronomic Research Institute (INRA), many other varieties are approved. These include native varieties, such as ‘Haouzia’, ‘Menara’, ‘Dahbia’, and ‘Meslala’, but also some European-introduced cultivars such as ‘Arbequina’, ‘Arbosana’, ‘Koroneiki’, ‘Picholine de Languedoc’, ‘Frantoio’, ‘Manzanilla’, and ‘Hojiblanca’, among others. The agronomic performance of these varieties differs in this context. In this sense, several studies have been conducted, including one by INRA which proves that ‘Ascolana Dura’, ‘Lecino’, ‘Haouzia’, and ‘Manzanilla’ are the most productive varieties in the two farming systems dominating in Morocco (rainfed and irrigated). The most alternating varieties are ‘Arbequina’, ‘Frantoio’, ‘Picholine de Languedoc’, and ‘Menara’. The production performance achieved depended on the varieties and the cropping system. In an irrigated system, the production was generally higher, and all the varieties responded positively to the irrigation inputs. Overall, in Morocco, traditional olive groves are still dominant, with an average farm size of 1.5 ha, representing 52% of the olive groves, spreading across mountain and rainfed agricultural regions. Intensive olive groves, in flatter areas and with irrigation, would account for up to 44%, while super-intensive orchards would still account for less than 5% of the total (about 40,000 ha) surface currently occupied by olive groves nationally.