Damages induced by an over-the-row harvester in ten cultivars in a high-density olive orchard

The damages induced by an over-the-row harvester were studied in 10 olive cultivars in a high-density orchard (1,250 trees ha-1) planted in 2011 in Central Italy. ‘Maurino’, ‘Sargano di Fermo’, ‘Ascolana tenera’, ‘Rosciola’, ‘Piantone di Mogliano’, ‘Piantone di Falerone’, ‘Arbequina’, ‘Tosca®’, ‘Don Carlo®’ and ‘FS17®’ were harvested by a tow-behind machine in 3 consecutive years (2015, 2016 and 2017). Trees were pruned with an initial conical shape since planting, removing long branches perpendicularly to the row to create a continuous hedgerow system finally. The canopy height ranged from 2.88±0.32 m to 3.3±0.20 m, and the transversal diameter (perpendicular to the row) from 1.78±0.24 m to 2.4±0.20 m in 2016 and 2018, respectively. The damages (hurts and breakings) were monitored in 20 homogeneous trees per cultivar at the end of the harvest. ‘Maurino’ and ‘Arbequina’ were averagely less damaged than the other studied cultivars, whereas ‘FS17®’ showed more hurt and breakings. The growth of the canopy during the three years increased the susceptibility to limb breakage of most part of the cultivars. Results are discussed to identify most and least damaged cultivars and to detect architectural predictors to classify them according to their susceptibility to damage. This study supplies useful information on the adaptability of local, national, and international olive cultivars to high density plantations and their suitability and specific needs for over-the-row mechanical harvest.