CASARANO - Despite the production estimates of the olive season are negative, the best news comes from Salento, a territory plagued by xylella: it began, in fact, in Casarano (Lecce), in the presence of the representatives of Cia-Agricoltori Italiani, Italia Olivicola and of the Consorzio Oliveti d'Italia, the first real harvest from the new young olive groves planted two years ago in place of the fields completely destroyed by the bacterium.
These are the olive groves of Fs-17 Favolosa, one of the two cultivars, together with the leccino, which according to scientists is resistant to the attacks of xylella.
It is an Italian cultivar, patented by the CNR, earlier than the others since after two years it can give its first good fruits.
The producers estimate that for each hectare planted it could be possible to harvest every year, constantly and with the plants in full ripeness, about 100 quintals of olives capable of producing an excellent extra virgin olive oil, which for quality and organoleptic characteristics it is already appreciated by consumers.
The xylella, discovered in 2013 in the territory of Gallipoli, in 7 years advanced until it finally broke through, just a few days ago, the province of Bari with the discovery of the outbreak of Monopoli.
In this period, according to a study by Italia Olivicola, it compromised the production of almost 5 million plants in the provinces of Lecce, Brindisi and Taranto, in an area of 22 million plants, with an average decrease of 29 thousand tons of extra virgin olive oil. equal to 10% of Italian olive production.
"This is very important news for Italian olive growing and a message of hope for those who care about the future of this sector - underlined the President of Cia Agricoltori Italiani, Dino Scanavino -. After difficult years, thanks to scientific research and stubbornness of farmers, there is a future for this territory which was suddenly hit by an unprecedented economic and landscape disaster ".
"The recovery of a very important area of Italian agriculture, from the destruction of xylella to a new olive growing that produces quality, thanks to an important generational change, marks a great spring for the Italian oil market, which often suffers problems of quantity and quality available for consumers ", concluded Nicola Ruggiero, President of the Consorzio Oliveti d'Italia.