Abandoned olive groves

The olive is a grateful tree! This is a saying often repeated by olive growers, and here it becomes evident. A small olive grove that is worked (pruned, hardened off and with the weeds in check) usually crops well, while one that has been abandoned stops producing olives after a few years. To the right of the road we can see a field that for some years has not been worked, the weeds compete with the olive tree roots for water and nutrients. Without pruning, the branches become denser each year and, with shorter growths, the olives will be fewer and smaller. With pruning, the grateful olive tree will once again bear good fruit.