Related Topics : Olive tree on Lake Garda - Fragments of the history of Garda lake extra virgin olive oil
Bad news for those who want to buy the excellent extra virgin olive oil. If last year the production of extra virgin olive oil was abundant as we have not remembered for a long time, this year the production is practically zero, since the drop in production can be estimated between 95% and 100%. In fact it is November, the time of the olive harvest, but all around the countryside of Lake Garda silence reigns. You don't see the farmers harvesting the olives and the mills remain closed, production is practically zero. The few farms on Lake Garda that produce organic oil but also those that produce oil from conventional farming will not be able to sell the new extra virgin olive oil this year. The causes of the disastrous year, the worst of the last 100 years, are due to the climatic conditions of this 2019, characterized by late spring weather conditions strongly adverse for the olive tree, which also favoured the attack of oil fly and moth. However, the explanation for what happened cannot be relegated to the adverse weather and climate conditions alone. The lack of attention to new cultural techniques in step with the times, the strong use of pesticides and chemical substances very toxic in agricultural practices, including the cultivation of olive trees, in an area that instead, given the characteristics of the territory would naturally be suited to organic and biodynamic agriculture, make crops increasingly defenseless against attacks by pests and other diseases typical of olive cultivation. Therefore, much remains to be done to improve the methods of olive cultivation on Lake Garda, starting from a path that leads to a more environmentally sustainable production: for example, adopting an organic and/or biodynamic method of cultivation, attentive to the fragile ecosystem of the Garda area and the health of the consumer. Select new cultivars starting from the traditional local ones that can guarantee greater resistance to olive tree diseases and climatic adversities in a historical context in which the latter are expected to worsen. So we just have to wait for the next oil campaign 2020/2021, as said this year the production of oil is zero, Lake Garda and the Veneto and Lombardy regions have asked for a state of disaster. So do not expect to find new oil, only at some farm you can buy extra virgin olive oil from the previous year, in the hope that next season will raise the fortunes of an agricultural sector on its knees.
Related Topics : Extra virgin olive oil ESVEAL© Bardolino - Monastery of San Colombano - Olive tree on Lake Garda - Fragments of the history of Garda lake extra virgin olive oil