Italian and Argentine olive oils: a NMR and gas chromatographic study

High-field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and Gas Chromatography (GC) were used to analyze 16 monovarietal olive oils obtained from few matched Mediterranean cultivars grown in experimental fields located in Italy and in the Catamarca region of Argentina. The Catamarca region is characterized by extreme pedoclimatic conditions and by a wild spontaneous vegetation. The proposed sampling allows to study the effect of different pedoclimatic conditions on olive oil composition. GC gives the fatty acid profile of olive oil samples. 1H and 13C NMR techniques provide different information: the 1H NMR spectrum allows the measurement of minor components of olive oils such as b-sytosterol, hexanal, trans-2-hexenal, formaldehyde, squalene, cycloartenol and linolenic acid; the 1C NMR spectrum allows to obtain information about glycerol tri-esters of olive oils, i.e., about their acyl composition and positional distribution on glycerol moiety. All the NMR and GC results have been submitted to Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and Tree Cluster Analysis (TCA). A careful analysis of the statistical results allows to select the Mediterranean cultivars less affected by the climatic conditions present in the Catamarca region. The selected cultivars produce olive oils which keep their Mediterranean characteristics and which can be proposed as colonizing plants in this wild Argentine region.La espectroscopía de Resonancia Magnética Nuclear de alta resolución (RMN) y Cromatografía Gaseosa (CG) fueron utilizadas para analizar 16 monovariedades de aceites de oliva, obtenidas de algunos olivares Mediterráneos cultivados contemporáneamente en campos experimentales localizados en Italia y en la región de Catamarca en Argentina. Estas muestras permiten estudiar diferentes condiciones pedoclimáticas en la composición de los aceite de oliva. La CG proporciona el perfil en ácidos grasos de los aceites de oliva y las técnicas RMN 1H y RMN 13C suministran diferentes informaciones: el espectro RMN 1H permite medir los componentes menores del aceite de oliva tales como b-sitoesterol, hexanol, trans - 2 hexanol, formaldehido, escualeno, cicloartenol y ácido linolénico y el espectro RMN 13C da información referente a los triésteres de glicerol de los aceites de oliva, por ejemplo, la composición y distribución de la posición acílica en el glicerol. Los datos de CG y RMN han sido sometidos a un análisis discriminante lineal (LDA) y a un análisis cluster en árbol (TCA). Un minucioso análisis de estos resultados ha permitido seleccionar olivares que han sido menos afectados por las condiciones climáticas presentes en la región de Catamarca. Los olivares seleccionados producen aceites de oliva que pueden mantener sus características Mediterráneas y pueden ser propuestos como plantas colonizantes en esta región silvestre de Argentina

Calidad del aceite de oliva virgen con relación a la zona de origen.

To elucidate the weight and the influence of the origin area on the analytical and compositional variables of olive oil, an investigation was carried out. Five Italian geographical zones were chosen. They were in the neighbour of the: (i) Faculty of Agriculture of University of Perugia (UNI-PG); (ii) the Olive Growing Institute-National Research Council of Perugia (NRC-PG); (iii) the Experimental Olive Growing Institute of Spoleto (EOI-SPOL); (iv) the Agricultural Technical Institute of Pescia (ATI-PES); and (v) the Faculty of Agriculture of University of Florence (UNI-FL). From these areas, Frantoio, Leccino and Moraiolo olive variety samples were taken, which were processed by a mini oil-mill. The research results showed that the quality, typicality and shelf-life parameters and the flavour of the oils were largely influenced by the origin zone, i.e., by the climatic and pedologic factors of the production environment. The influence exerted on some oil constituent groups, as phenols, tocopherols, aromatic volatile compounds, and fatty acids, should be emphasized as these components are closely related to the quality and typicality of product. Some oil genuineness parameters were affected as well by the environmental variables.Se ha realizado una investigación para evidenciar la importancia y la Influencia que la zona de origen tiene sobre las variables analíticas del aceite de oliva virgen. Han sido seleccionadas cinco zonas geográficas de Italia: (i) una cerca de la Facultad de Agraria de la Universidad de Perusa (UNI-PG); (ii) una cerca del Instituto para la Olivicultura - Consejo Nacional de las Investigaciones de Perusa (CNI-PG); (iii) una zona próxima al Instituto Experimental para la Olivicultura de Espoleto (lEO-ESP); (iv) una zona cerca Instituto Técnico Agrario de Pescia (ITA-PES); (v) una zona cerca de la Facultad de Agraria de la Universidad de Florencia (UNI-FL). De estas zonas han sido tomadas muestras de aceitunas de las variedades Frantoio, Leccino y Moraiolo, las cuales han sido procesadas con un micro-molino de aceite. Los resultados de la investigación, han puesto en evidencia que los parámetros de la calidad, tipismo y vida útil, y el flavor de los aceites estaban bastante influenciados por la zona de origen, es decir por los factores climáticos y pedológicos del medio agrícola. Se debe subrayar la influencia observada en algunos grupos de componentes, como fenoles, tocoferoles, compuestos volátiles aromáticos y ácidos grasos, puesto que estas substancias están estrechamente relacionadas con la calidad y el tipismo del producto. Algunos parámetros de la pureza están también influenciados por las variables ambientales

A regulated deficit irrigation strategy for hedgerow olive orchards with high plant density

Background & Aims There is not a consensus on the best irrigation approach for super-high density (SHD) olive orchards. Our aim was to design and test a regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) strategy for a sustainable balance between water saving, tree vigour and oil production. Methods We tested our RDI strategy for 3 years in an ‘Arbequina’ orchard with 1,667 trees ha−1. Two levels of irrigation reduction were applied, 60RDI and 30RDI, scaled to replacing 60 % and 30 %, respectively, of the of irrigation needs (IN). We also had a full irrigation (FI) treatment as control, with IN totalling 4,701 m3 ha−1 Results The 30RDI treatment showed the best balance between water saving, tree vigour and oil production. With a yearly irrigation amount (IA) of 1,366 m3 ha−1, which meant 72 % water saving as compared to FI, the reduction in oil yield was 26 % only. Conclusions Our results, together with recent knowledge on the effect of water stress on fruit development, allowed us to suggest a potentially improved RDI strategy for which a total IA of ca. 2,100 m3 ha−1 was calculated. Both some management details and the benefits of this suggested RDI strategy are still to be tested