Heat, pests and a problem of productive capacity

The production of olives, and therefore that of olive oil, has been living a turbulent years. The drought in 2023 put the harvest in check but the return of the rains last year gave the producers a respite. Now the agricultural sector in Jaén has expressed concern about what comes in front.

Crisis or regression to the average?

Pessimism in forecasts. The coordinator of organizations of farmers and ranchers of Jaén (Coag Jaén) has shown her Concern for this harvest of the olive. Although the association indicates that it is still early to talk about forecasts for harvest, some areas of the province already estimate crops between 30% and 40% below the views last year.

Producers They point out several causes Behind this pessimistic forecast, which cover warm episodes as well as the risk of pests, but also the natural phenomenon known as the olive grove.

A little propitious meteorology. One of the factors that concern the coordinator is in meteorology. Specifically, the warm episodes we have been living since the end of May. The heat has advanced this year in which the thermometers in several areas of Andalusia came to exceed 40º before the end of the spring month.

Of course, this problem may not be extensible to other regions. The rains in the mediterranean environment They could have a positive impact in the crops of the area. Farmers now expect temperatures not to fall during the beginning of the summer in order to reduce the risk of the arrival of Prays.

And the pests. There are several pests that threaten the oil harvest this year and among them the most popular is perhaps that of Prays (Prays Oleae), also the so -called olive moth. Already in May, the Junta de Andalucía He warned of “algal levels of attack” associated with this plague.

The life of this insect is closely associated with the olive grove and has several annual generations that can affect this plant. The data of the Board are based on the animal’s philophagous generation, which affects the plant leaf. Now the experts They follow the Antophagous Generationwhich affects the plant of the plant.

The algodoncillo (Euphyllura Olivina) It is another pest that concern producers. It is another insect whose name derives from the “cotton” appearance that surrounds the nymphs of this invertebrate.

The olive grove. Voccas or contracting is a natural phenomenon that occurs in numerous crops. The vocation occurs when crops have difficulties in producing for full performance for two consecutive years. As explained by the coordinator, although in some Jienenses areas the production of last season was “average”, some olive trees “already accuse the verter.”

Looking for clues. As Coag Jaén points out in its statementit is still early for truthful estimates of what this year’s harvest will be. As indicated by the Agrarian Association, the olive grove has two “critical” moments for the demand for culture water. The first is the flowering that usually occurs between April and May; The second is maturation, in September.

There will be so much to wait a few months before having a definitive idea about what the Cosecha will be like, but what do we know exactly about flowering? The pollen can give us a track.

According to Coag Jaén’s own data, the pollen concentration peak in the air occurred on May 19, with 7,711 grains per cubic meter, “far from the maximum peaks of other years when 15,000 grains were exceeded”, in the words of the association.

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Image | Natalia Gusakova