Olive, Olive Oil
Spain is world’s largest producer of olives followed by Italy and Greece.[1] However summers in the Mediterranean are getting hotter and drier, with warm temperatures extending into spring and fall. The need for irrigation is expected to increase 18% over the region.[2] While olives can tolerate periods without water, extended droughts can decrease vegetative growth, yield, olive size, and the oil content of the fruit. In Spain, shifts in weather patterns caused by climate change are resulting in more freeze injury to the fruit and subsequently a “frostbitten flavor,” now one of the most common defects in olive oil quality.[3] Droughts during 2012 and 2014 stressed the trees in Andalusia—the region of Spain responsible for nearly a third of the world’s production.[4]
References:
[1] European Commission, “Olives by Production,” 2018, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/main/data/database.[2] Lazar Tanasijevic et al., “Impacts of Climate Change on Olive Crop Evapotranspiration and Irrigation Requirements in the Mediterranean Region,” Agricultural Water Management 144 (October 1, 2014): 54–68, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2014.05.019.
[3] Inmaculada Romero et al., “Study of Volatile Compounds of Virgin Olive Oils with ‘Frostbitten Olives’ Sensory Defect,” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 65, no. 21 (May 31, 2017), 4314, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.7b00712.
[4] Rafaela Dios-Palomares and José M. Martínez-Paz, “Technical, Quality and Environmental Efficiency of the Olive Oil Industry,” Food Policy 36, no. 4 (August 1, 2011), 526, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2011.04.001
