Olive picking dates and proper methods for harvesting and packing in the Syrian coast

Latakia-SANA

In the autumn, the olive harvest comes to a number of areas on the Syrian coast as a beloved annual guest, who is eagerly awaited by farmers to reap the fruits of their labor and effort, adopting several methods of harvesting to obtain a good return from this crop.

In this regard, the head of the olive cultivation department in the Jableh Agriculture Department, Engineer Ahmed Al-Hoshi, told SANA reporter that the olive harvest season varies from region to region and according to climatic conditions, as it ranges between mid-September and mid-October, when the fruits have reached the stage of maturity and contain the highest percentage of oil.

He pointed out that the process of harvesting the crop is done by placing a wide piece of cloth under the olive tree to collect the fallen kernels, then it is placed in a bag or a plastic or wooden box to facilitate the ventilation process because high heat may

affect the quality of the extracted oil. Transfer and empty the fruits and leave them for two or three days in the open air and remove the remnants of the branches and leaves from them and the dirt by means of a “sieve” so as not to affect the quality and taste of the oil later on, and then they are reassembled in bags until they are sent to the press.

Al-Hoshi pointed out that the process of picking olives is carried out in two ways: the first is a “classic” manual method that relies on labor, which is the most widespread and is characterized by cheap costs and the ability to adapt to working conditions. With olives in Al-Hawakeer, where it is not feasible to use machines, in addition to the varying ages of the trees, the lack of roads that connect to many places of cultivation, in addition to the high cost of these machines.

He explained that the olive harvest takes 3 forms, the first by using the hands by extracting the ripe fruits from the tree and the second by taking the form of a comb equipped with a stick to hold the fruits and used in case the production is abundant and it is preferable to sterilize it after each use to avoid the transmission of diseases from the infected tree to the healthy one. Al-Nabour or “the fountain” is used in the event that it is not possible to reach the high branches of the tree through the use of a long, lightweight stick in which the far branches are struck so that the olives fall and be picked.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform estimated Syria's olive production for the current season at more than 645,000 tons.

Marina basement