Olive oil is one of the most popular vegetable oils worldwide but several factors might affect its quality and composition, from the tree to the spoon. Olive oil quality and composition is mainly influenced by olive fruit characteristics, and therefore all aspects that influence their development have a crucial effect on olive products. Those factors include the selection of olive cultivar, its cultivation, degree of crop intensification and production systems, agricultural practices, including irrigation and fertilization, olive pests and diseases management, all these factors clearly defining the composition of olive fruits and the inherent quality and properties of olive products. In the last decades, huge modifications in olive tree cultivation have been observed, related essentially with two great factors: development of olive cultivations in new producing areas and crop intensification in traditional producing areas. Generally, most agronomic factors, including crop density, farming system, irrigation and fertilization, have no substantial effects on fresh olive oil quality parameters and classification. Nevertheless, a considerable incidence of olive pests and diseases can easily take fresh olive oils to the lampante category. In opposition, all agronomic factors seem to influence olive oil composition. Antioxidants are the main affected components, with a crucial effect on olive oil sensorial attributes, bioactive and nutritional properties, as well as its oxidative stability. In present chapter the influence of diverse agronomic factors on olive fruits and olive oils production, composition and quality, is reviewed and discussed, giving special importance to olive farming-systems, fertilization and irrigation, as well as the incidence of olive pests and diseases.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
