Growers and others interested in growing table olives or olives for making olive oil are invited to a California Statewide Olive Seminar on Friday, April 4. The online seminar, a series of presentations from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., is sponsored by the University of California Cooperative Extension and UC Integrated Pest Management Program.
“This webinar is free and open to anyone interested in learning more about the current knowledge and research happening in olive production,” said Cindy Kron, University of California Cooperative Extension IPM advisor, noting that people from other states and countries are welcome to attend.
UC Cooperative Extension scientists will present the latest research information on pest management, irrigation, weeds, fertilizer needs, harvest, olive quality and alternate bearing of table olive trees.
With 34,000 acres of olive orchards, California grows 100% of U.S. commercial olives, which are valued at $63.1 million, according to the most current California Crop Report. The export value of California olives and olive oil is $13 million.
“Olive production requires an estimated 1.5 to 2-acre-feet of water per year, making it an ideal crop for lower water demand,” Kron said. “To put this into perspective, wine grapes require about 2 to 3-acre-feet per year and almonds about 3 to 4-acre-feet per year.”
Olive orchard owners, orchard managers, people who do pest management or other work in olives, olive processors, people who make olive-based products, operators of olive tree nurseries, people who have olive trees in their yards and olive enthusiasts may find topics of interest.
“There is general knowledge that anyone can benefit from in the webinar,” said Kron. “We are also offering continuing education units for those holding California licenses or certificates (PCA, QAL, QAC, PAC) and Certified Crop Adviser units.”
California grows olives to press for oil and table olives to eat. On the North Coast, olives are grown in medium-density plantings for oil. In the Central Valley, both table and oil olives are grown mostly in high-density plantings.
“The majority of UC olive researchers are in the Central Valley,” said Kron, who works in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Lake counties, “so I have developed a program that addresses the needs of not only my clientele but also the clientele of the UC olive researchers.”
Please register for the webinar at bit.ly/Olive2025. The agenda is below.
California Statewide Olive Seminar, April 4
7:55 a.m. Welcome and Introduction - Cindy Kron, UC Cooperative Extension North Coast IPM Advisor
8 a.m. Olive Fruit Fly: Testing Organic and Conventional Pesticides for Registration - Kron
9 a.m. Irrigation Management Strategies for Olive Orchards in California - Giulia Marino, Associate Professor of Cooperative Extension
9:30 a.m. Mitigation of Alternate Bearing of Table Olives - Elizabeth Fichtner, UC Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor for Tulare County
10 a.m. BREAK
10:15 a.m. Macro- and Micro-Fertilization in Olive - Richard Rosecrance, Professor, California State University, Chico
11:15 a.m. Mechanical Harvest of Table Olives: An Update - Becky Wheeler-Dykes, UCCE Orchard Systems and Weed Ecology Farm Advisor for Glenn, Tehama and Colusa counties
11:45 a.m. Yield and quality of olives and olive oil - Selina Wang, Associate Professor of Cooperative Extension at UC Davis
12:15 p.m. UC Davis Olive Center Updates and Programming - Javier A Fernandez Salvador, Director of UC Davis Olive Center