The harvesting time of the olives depends on when the olive fruit is full of oil. In Crete, Greece harvesting starts in November and ends in February. According to scientists, this period is the best for producing the best quality of oil as at this time the oil retains all its marvellous properties.
Harvesting plays an important role in the quality of the oil and the cultivation of the trees. There are many ways used to harvest olives and many machines are now being used, replacing the farmer’s labor and making the procedure easier and cheaper. However, no-one can really replace the hand, which protects the tree and chooses the olive.
Olive harvesting differs from place to place. There are places where the olive is left to ripen and fall to the ground, giving the opportunity for insects to get into the fruit and affect the quality of the oil. There are places where they milk the olives; in other places they beat the branches with sticks or beating machines. Beating is not the best procedure because the new branches, which should bloom the next year, are broken. In other places, they comb the branches with special combs and elsewhere they use shaking machines, which let the fruit fall onto nets which have been laid on the ground.
In the past, the harvesting of the olives, as well as the cultivation of the olive trees, was a family affair. However, over time circumstances have changed. The countryside has become depopulated and the farmers have turned to using mechanical means of cultivation in order to reduce costs and increase production.
Olive tree farming is difficult agricultural work and not always profitable. Nevertheless, methods are improving, especially regarding cultivation, fruit harvesting and the production of olive oil, which is a high quality product more and more in demand by the international markets.
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