The rebirth of the olive economy of Salento is in a super extra virgin olive oil that gives quality to consumers and hope to the farmers of Salento who have been bent over by Xylella fastidiosa for 7 years.
It is the oil coming from the Fs-17 Favolosa variety, whose olives were harvested for the first time in these days in the province of Lecce.
It is a plant patented by the CNR which, together with the leccino, according to scientists, is resistant to attacks by the killer bacterium.
According to experts, the result is an extra virgin olive oil that offers a high content of antioxidant polyphenols which translates into a good level of bitter and spicy which, combined with a herbaceous fruitiness, give harmony and balance.
"Thanks to the research and the stubbornness of the farmers - comments the president of Cia-Agricoltori Italiani, Dino Scanavino - there is a future for this territory hit by an unprecedented economic and landscape disaster".
The identity card of the Favolosa is a mix between the 'frantoio' and 'ascolana tenera' varieties, the result of a crossing of cultivars studied for years by Professor Giuseppe Fontanazza, former director of the Department of Bio-Agri-food Science of the CNR.
An entirely Italian variety, characterized by its rapid growth in the field and its earliness.
In fact, already after two years, the plant is able to produce about 10% of the maximum potential of olives, to reach maximum production within 5 years without undergoing the cyclical seasons.
According to CIA estimates, almost 500,000 Favolosa plants have already been planted in Salento, with the aim of covering the loss of the 5 million plants killed by the killer in an area that contains more than 22 million.
"This is only the first step to bring work and enthusiasm back to the fields - declares the president of Oliveti d'Italia, Nicola Ruggiero - we hope that the research will find more resistant cultivars to complete the reconstruction of Apulian olive growing".