Olive trees, ‘Olea europaea,’ would be the earliest fruit trees and are among the main fruit trees ever. Olive tree civilization has been closely on the rise and fall of Mediterranean empires and other advanced civilizations through the ages.
Olive Trees
Because olive trees provided wealth and future food supplies to based civilizations, the agricultural countries became stable societies, leading from a safe anticipation from previous experience of an uninterrupted food and olive oil supply. This factor was a essential requirement for population increase and increase. Dependable fruit production and olive oil production means that olive trees must exist in a stable society and a peaceful atmosphere. That equilibrium must extend for several years, because most early seedling olive trees took eight or more years prior to producing the initial crop of fruit.
Productive orchards of olive trees meant a base of the great empires of Greece and Rome had arisen and developed into complex political and economic forces. It’s interesting to note that the historical decline of those empires corresponded to the destruction of the olive tree orchards that decreased the accessible supplies of olives, olive oil, olive oil, and olive soap. In relation to the destruction of olive orchards, it’s interesting to note that in the Israeli wars with Palestine, 50,000 olive trees have been destroyed by Israeli bulldozers. That action of agricultural destruction caused considerable anger and unrest across the Gaza strip and the West Bank, because the economic livelihood of many Palestinian farmers depended on their merchandise in the uprooted olive trees. Additionally, the olive tree was a’peace and goodwill’ symbol, and when the olive trees were leveled close to the city of Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus and the”Cradle of Biblical History,” that removal of olive trees seemed like a deliberate provocation to finish the’peace’ with the Palestinian farmers and settlers.
Medicinal Properties
Medical properties of olive oil have been reported by many early Greek writers and philosophers, their significance in creating nutritional advantages and prosperity for Greek citizens proceeds abundantly today–a few Greek olive tree orchards containing a million or more trees. Aristotle wrote extensively about the approved methods of successfully growing olive trees.
Greek mythology documents that Athena, the Goddess of wisdom and peace, struck her magical spear to the Earth, and it turned into an olive tree, therefore, the place where the olive tree appeared and grew was named Athens, Greece, in honor of the Goddess, Athena. Local legend tells us that the first olive tree still stands rising after many centuries in the ancient sacred website. Citizens still assert that all Greek olive trees originated from rooted cuttings which were grown from that olive tree. Homer maintained in his writings that the ancient olive tree growing in Athens was 10,000 years old. Homer said that Greek courts sentenced people to death when they ruined an olive tree. In 775 BC Olympia, Greece, in the website of the ancient Olympic stadium, athletes competed and trained, and winners were triumphantly acclaimed and crowned with a wreath made from olive twigs. Ancient gold coins which were minted in Athens depicted the face of the Goddess, Athena, wearing an olive leaf wreath on her helmet carrying a clay vessel of olive oil. The Greeks started olive oil in 700 BC.
The sacred lamp which was used in early Greek civilization for light dark rooms at night has been fueled by olive oil. Aged olive oil was also utilised in sacred anointing rituals of the church in weddings and in baptisms. Herodotus wrote in 500 BC, the exporting and growing of olives and olive oil were so sacred that only virgins and eunuchs were permitted to cultivate orchards of olive trees. The earliest documented plantings of olive trees might have happened during the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete and are thought to have been growing around 3500 BC. That culture predates the discovered Mycenae olive fossils from 1600 BC and afterwards from the Greek empire. Sturt Manning, an archeologist from Cornell University, reported in Live Science Magazine (Apr 28, 2005) the most devastating volcano in 10,000 years happened on the Greek Island of Thera, and the town of Akrotiri was buried by the falling ash. The finding of olive oil and olive seed fossils buried near the site has revealed through carbon dating the volcanic eruption happened between 1660 and 1600 BC and might have contributed to the whole destruction of the advanced Minoan civilization (Atlantis) on the isle of Crete and might have resulted in the creation of the Sahara desert in North Africa after vaporizing the indigenous forests there.
The Flowers
The fragrant flowers of olive trees are small and creamy white, concealed within the thick leaves. Some cultivars will self pollinate, but others won’t. The blossoms usually begin appearing in April and can continue for several months. A crazy, seedling olive tree normally starts to flower and produce fruit in age 8 years. The fruit of the olive tree is a purplish-black when completely ripe, but a couple of cultivars are green when ripe and a few olives turn a shade of copper-brown. The size of the olive oil is variable, even on the same tree, and the shape ranges from round to oblong with pointed ends. Some olives can be eaten fresh after sun-drying and the flavor is sweet, but most olive cultivars are sour and has to be treated by different chemical solutions before developing into edible olives. If the olives are thinned on the limbs of the trees to 2 or 3 per twig, the ultimate size of the olives will be a lot larger. The fruit is gathered in mid October and must be processed as soon as possible to stop fermentation and a decrease in quality.
The leaves
The leaves of olive trees are gray-green and are replaced at 2-3 year intervals during the spring after new growth appears. Pruning yearly and seriously is quite important to insure continued creation. The trees have the unproductive limbs removed,”so it is going to be more profitable”. An olive tree can grow to 50 feet using a limb spread of 30 feet, but most growers will keep the tree pruned to 20 feet to guarantee maximum production. New trees and sprouts will emerge in the olive tree stump roots, even if the trees are cut down. Some olive trees are considered to be more than a million years old, and many will live to the ripe old age of 500 years.
Harvesting
Olives generally are beaten trees off with sticks, harvested mechanically or by shaking the fruit from the trees. Most ripening olives are removed from the trees following the vast majority of the fruit starts to change in colour. It’s necessary to squeeze the olive oil in a day following harvesting or else fermentation or decrease in taste and quality will happen. The olive oil can be consumed or used in cooking immediately after its collection from the media. Olive oils are unique and different, each manufacturer of olive oil using its own personality, as determined by several things, like those exceptional taste differences seen in fine wines. Prepared commercial olive oils can vary considerably in aroma, fruit taste; whether the flavor is, floral, nutty, delicate, or gentle, and the coloring of olive oil is very changeable.
Olive Oil
Olive oil creates many health benefits when used in cooking or when poured over salads. Using olive oil may improve digestion and may benefit heart metabolism via its low content of cholesterol. Experts assert that olive oil consumption will cause someone to grow shiny hair, stop dandruff, prevent wrinkles, and prevent dry skin and acne, strengthen nails, stop muscle aching, lower blood pressure and cancel out the effects of alcohol.
Olive trees can survive droughts and powerful winds, and they grow well on well drained soils up to a pH of 8.5 and the trees can withstand salt water conditions. In Europe, olive trees are typically fertilized every other year using a natural fertilizer. Alternate bearing can be prevented by heavy pruning and the trees respond to this quite quickly and favorably.
Olive trees must be purchased which have been vegetatively propagated or grafted, since the seed grown trees will revert to a wild form that yields little olives with an insipid taste. Olive trees are more resistant to insects and diseases than any other fruit tree and, thus, are sprayed less than any other crop.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that commercial production of olives in america is just 2% of the world market, amazing interest in developing olives throughout the South has been aroused by the recent introduction of promising cold solid olive trees from European hybridizers. Many European immigrants into the United States grow their own olive trees in huge pots, that may be moved in and out of the home during seasonal changes.
