Recovering a Poorly Managed Super-High-Density Olive Grove: Reform Pruning to Restore Balance and Productivity

In the countryside of Stornarella, in the province of Foggia, Agronomist Vito Vitelli is overseeing the recovery of an olive grove originally trained as a super-high-density hedgerow system. Over the years, the orchard had developed serious issues related both to vegetative management and plant health, showing particular susceptibility to olive knot disease.

The main problem was not the super-high-density system itself, but rather the excessive vigor that had accumulated over time. The hedgerow had become overly unbalanced, dense, and poorly ventilated, with vegetation progressively shifting upward and creating heavy internal shading. Under these conditions, the formation of balanced productive vegetation declines, competition among vigorous branches increases, and microclimates favorable to bacterial infections and other phytosanitary problems develop.

For this reason, in 2022 it was decided to carry out a drastic reform pruning intervention. The trees were cut back to approximately 70–90 cm above the crown area, maintaining the minimum height required for the passage of harvesting machinery while simultaneously stimulating a complete reconstruction of the vegetative wall. Today, the old trunk is practically no longer visible: the new structure has been formed entirely from the regrowth produced after the cut.

Following vegetative regrowth, the first 55–60 cm from the ground were cleared to ensure the minimum clearance required for the over-row harvesting machine, progressively establishing a new upright vegetative wall. Subsequently, repeated topping and edging operations were carried out using a pruning blade positioned approximately 15 cm from the previous cutting lines. Through two cycles of topping and edging, it was possible to reconstruct a compact wall with a skeletal structure approximately 75–80 cm wide, from which highly flexible and well-balanced branches now develop.

From a physiological perspective, this aspect is fundamental. Topping reduces apical dominance and encourages more harmonious and less aggressive lateral growth. Edging, on the other hand, limits excessive outward expansion, improving the distribution of secondary branches and increasing light penetration within the canopy wall. The result is more elastic vegetation, naturally predisposed to fruiting and less subject to uncontrolled vigorous reactions.

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Additional moderating cuts, consisting of the removal of only a few centimeters from the most upright shoot tips, further contributed to balancing the canopy by promoting the development and strengthening of flexible lateral branches suited for fruit production. It is precisely this continuous process of vegetative rebalancing that makes it possible to transform an aggressive hedgerow into a much more stable and productive structure over time.

Recent international experiences with super-high-density olive groves, particularly in Spain and Australia, confirm that vigor control is one of the key factors in maintaining efficient vegetative walls. Today, the tendency is no longer to excessively thin the trees, but rather to manage vigor through vegetative-productive balance, diffuse light distribution, and the constant presence of fruit-bearing vegetation. Pruning less and taking advantage of the self-regulating effects generated by the interaction between the root systems of adjacent trees and the weight of the fruit itself represents one of the most modern strategies in super-high-density olive grove management.

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This year, no further major thinning operations will be carried out. On the contrary, the maximum possible amount of productive vegetation will be maintained so that the fruit itself can naturally slow down the tree’s vigor. Only from next year onward will the central portion of the wall gradually be opened up by spur-pruning selected competing branches and progressively improving internal ventilation. All of this will require only limited and highly targeted manual interventions, with significantly lower management costs compared to continuous indiscriminate pruning.

At the same time, interventions against olive knot disease are also being implemented through treatments with sanitizing products (hydrogen peroxide) and the introduction of antagonistic microorganisms strategies increasingly adopted internationally to reduce bacterial disease pressure in intensive and super-high-density orchards.

The case of Stornarella demonstrates how even poorly established olive groves can be successfully recovered through physiologically sound reform pruning capable of rebuilding a modern, stable, and efficient productive hedgerow.

Editorial Note:
Original content curated by Agronomist Vito Vitelli, developed and optimized with the support of artificial intelligence tools for educational, informational, and technical dissemination purposes.

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