Arbequina Olive Tree

Description

The ‘Arbequina’ olive tree (Olea europaea L.) is a traditional olive variety from Catalonia, whose name comes from the village of Arbeca, in the comarca of Les Garrigues (province of Lleida, Spain), valued for its early bearing, its high and regular productivity and its mild, fruity oil. In French, the spellings Arbequine and Arbéquine are also found.

Arbequina has become the benchmark variety for super-high-density hedgerow olive groves. In the garden, the Arbequina olive tree appeals through its moderate vigour, easy to train in open ground as well as in a container. Two points are worth knowing before you buy: its pollination and the real limits of its hardiness.

Arbequina olive tree at a glance

About the Arbequina olive tree

The Arbequina olive tree takes its name from Arbeca, the historic cradle of its cultivation. A widespread tradition credits its introduction in the 17th century to the Duke of Medinaceli, lord of the castle of Arbeca, who is said to have brought it back from Palestine. The Arbeca cooperative itself presents this account as a legend: no known source establishes it.

Long confined to the provinces of Lleida and Tarragona, the Arbequina variety spread to Aragon and Andalusia, then to California, Argentina, Chile and Australia. The Catalan research institute IRTA has selected a clone of it, IRTA-i·18, distributed under licence.

Fruit characteristics

• Size: the Arbequina olive is among the smallest of the Spanish varieties, around 1 to 2 g.
• Shape: spherical and symmetrical; ovoid stone with rounded ends.
• Oil content: described as high by the world catalogue of the International Olive Council (IOC).
• Picking: its small size makes mechanical shaker harvesting difficult; in the garden, pick by hand or with a harvesting comb.

Arbequina oil offers excellent tasting qualities: mild, fruity, with little bitterness and little pungency. The trade-off is its low oxidative stability, which is why the olives should not be left to over-ripen.

Pollination of the Arbequina olive tree

Most descriptions present the Arbequina olive tree as self-fertile, and Spanish catalogues call it “self-compatible”. Since 2017, however, the work of Pierre Saumitou-Laprade’s team (CNRS, University of Lille) has established diallelic self-incompatibility in the olive: two groups, G1 and G2, whose varieties fertilise each other only across opposite groups.

Arbequina belongs to group G1, and a 2018 Spanish study (Sánchez-Estrada and Cuevas) concludes that it is self-incompatible. An isolated Arbequina olive tree may set a few olives. A regular harvest, however, calls for a pollinizer nearby, since olive pollen is carried by the wind. This is all the more true where olive trees are scarce, as across much of south-west France.

Possible pollinizers (group G2 according to France Olive):

• Aglandau, Bouteillan, Tanche, Verdale de l’Hérault.

To be avoided as pollinizers for Arbequina:

• Picholine, Cailletier (Frantoio) and Leccino, classified G1 like Arbequina;
• Lucques and Olivière, from group G2 but reputed to have sterile pollen. Arbequina can pollinate them, not the other way round.

Growing and care

Soil and aspect

The Arbequina olive tree requires full sun and perfectly free-draining soil: standing water in winter harms it more than summer drought. Arbequina tolerates salinity but remains prone to iron chlorosis in very chalky soil, which shows as a yellowing of the leaves between the veins. On a limestone slope, have the active lime content measured before planting.

In a dry, warm corner, the Arbequina olive tree goes naturally with the Noir de Caromb fig tree, the Goutte d’or fig tree, the Agat pomegranate tree or the Marcona almond tree.

Planting

• Plant in spring, once the hard frosts have passed, so that the tree roots before its first winter.
• In heavy soil, plant on a mound to keep the roots away from standing water.
• Put the G2 pollinizer in at the same time, close by.

Pruning

The olive tree fruits on the previous year’s shoots. Arbequina is pruned at the end of winter, after the hard frosts. The aim is to open up the centre and remove dead wood, without cutting back hard. Its moderate vigour allows open-vase, central-leader or hedgerow training.

Diseases and resistance

• Peacock spot (Venturia oleaginea, cycloconium): Arbequina is considered tolerant.
• Verticillium wilt (Verticillium dahliae): susceptible variety. Avoid plots that have carried tomatoes, potatoes, aubergines or strawberries, hosts of the fungus.
• Olive fruit fly (Bactrocera oleae): susceptible variety.
• Olive knot (Pseudomonas savastanoi): Spanish sources disagree.

Tolerance is not immunity: a variety tolerant to peacock spot can still be affected in mild, damp autumns.

Culinary uses

The Arbequina olive is first and foremost an oil olive. Mild and low in pungency, Arbequina oil shines raw: salads, vegetables, fish. Keep it away from light and use it quickly. In Catalonia, the small Arbequina olives are also eaten as table olives, after debittering in brine, like all olives.

Hardiness of the Arbequina olive tree: what the trials really say

The cold tolerance of the Arbequina olive tree is its most repeated selling point, and the most poorly quantified. A Spanish trial (Barranco et al., 2005) ranked it among the three most resistant of eight varieties, with Cornicabra and Picual. An assessment of 24 varieties published in 2016 placed it, on the contrary, among the most damaged.

The hardiness of Arbequina is therefore relative, and no temperature threshold specific to the variety is established. In practice:

• an olive tree that is not yet hardened off is more at risk from an early November frost than from mid-winter cold;
• young plants and container-grown specimens are the most exposed;
• valley bottoms where cold air settles are to be avoided.

Our experience at the nursery (Lot-et-Garonne)

Frequently asked questions about the Arbequina olive tree

Is the Arbequina olive tree self-fertile?

Not reliably. Long said to be self-fertile, the Arbequina olive tree belongs to incompatibility group G1 identified by Saumitou-Laprade et al. (2017), and a 2018 Spanish study concludes that it is self-incompatible. An isolated tree may set a few olives, but a regular harvest calls for a group G2 pollinizer planted nearby.

Which pollinizer should you choose for the Arbequina olive tree?

Choose a group G2 variety with fertile pollen, flowering at the same time: Aglandau, Bouteillan, Tanche or Verdale de l’Hérault, according to the list published by France Olive. Avoid Picholine, Cailletier (Frantoio) and Leccino, classified G1 like Arbequina, as well as Lucques and Olivière, from group G2 but reputed to have sterile pollen.

How hardy is the Arbequina olive tree?

The Arbequina olive tree is reputed to be cold tolerant, but no temperature threshold specific to the variety is established. A Spanish trial ranked it among the three most resistant of eight varieties, while an assessment of 24 varieties published in 2016 placed it among the most damaged. Young plants and container-grown specimens remain the most vulnerable.

When should Arbequina olives be harvested?

Arbequina olives are harvested from October to December in the northern hemisphere, the variety being classed as early. For oil, avoid over-ripeness: Arbequina oil, which has low stability, oxidises more easily than that of other varieties. The fruits, which are very small, are picked by hand or with a comb over a tarpaulin spread out beneath the tree.

Can an Arbequina olive tree be grown in a pot?

Yes. Its low to moderate vigour makes the Arbequina olive tree a variety well suited to growing in a pot or a container. Use a large container with drainage holes and a free-draining growing medium, and water moderately. In a pot, the roots are more exposed to frost than in open ground: shelter the container during spells of prolonged cold.

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