Arbequina olive: Spain's oil variety
The mainstay of super-high-density planting. Small canopy, small fruit, early bearing — the variety that changed modern olive growing.
The biggest break in modern olive growing came not from a machine but from a variety: Arbequina. Super-high-density planting — 1,500 to 2,000 trees per hectare, harvested by machine — was not possible without it.
Why is being small an advantage?
In a traditional grove the tree is large, the canopy spreads wide, and harvest is done by pole or by hand. Arbequina's advantage is the opposite of all that:
- A small, upright canopy — it can be planted in rows, like a vineyard.
- Early bearing — it starts cropping in the third year after planting; traditional varieties take six to eight.
- Small fruit — suited to over-the-row harvesters.
A measurement made in Türkiye puts numbers to that smallness. Compared against nine Turkish varieties in Çukurova University's germplasm collection, Arbequina IRTA-18 showed:
| Fruit weight | 1.09 g |
| Fruit length | 13.10 mm |
| Fruit width | 11.43 mm |
| Flesh ratio | 0.76 |
| Fruit shape index | 1.15 (round) |
| Chilling requirement | 260–289 chill units (394–459 hours) |
Source: Gündeşli and Küden (2020). Arbequina had the smallest fruit in the trial; for comparison, Karamürsel Su measured 34.83 mm in length — nearly three times as long.
What is the oil like?
Arbequina oil is mild, fruity and low in bitterness, with almond and apple notes commonly described. That places it at the opposite pole from Picual and Coratina.
The commercial consequence: Arbequina is the entry point for consumers who find olive oil harsh, which is why it spread so quickly on the world market. But the same mildness means low polyphenols — its shelf life does not match Picual's.
What it means for Türkiye
On chilling requirement, Arbequina fell into the same group as Gemlik and below Memecik. It can therefore grow along Türkiye's temperate coastal belt.
Super-high-density planting is being tried in Türkiye too; on the economics of spacing: Planting density: how many trees per decare?
Related pages
One rating per visitor; you can change yours at any time. Ratings are real reader votes — no seeded or default scores.
Related
Article
Kilis Yağlık olive: characteristics, oil content and growing areas
One of Türkiye's highest oil-yielding varieties at 31%. Small-fruited and purely for oil — 560 fruits per kilo.
Article
Olive growing in Marmara: the home of the table olive
The table olive's home is not the Aegean but Marmara: 80% of the region's crop is Gemlik. The reason is climate.
Article
Kiraz olive: characteristics, oil content and growing areas
Akhisar's early table variety. Low in oil, but early maturity makes it the season's first olive to market.
Article
Are my olives spoiled? Mould, bulging lids and softening
A white film on brine is not always mould. But a bulging lid is not debatable: discard it unopened. How kahm yeast differs from mould.