Garda Olive Oil: Organic Pest Control Promises Chemical-Free Quality
The Garda Extra Virgin Olive Oil is already a well-established and appreciated product on the market, but it could become even more so, especially if farmers embrace the proposal from the Agrarian Association.
Organic Trentino olive oil is the goal, meaning a product obtained through natural cultivation techniques, completely banning the use of chemicals traditionally used to combat olive pests and nourish the growing soil.
Is this achievable? Absolutely, responds Mario Zumiani, director of Agraria, explaining how and why the experimental project can succeed.
Current state of cultivation and pest control
Meanwhile, it should be noted that olive groves have an advantage over others, such as apple orchards.
The pests that threaten them are only two: the olive fruit fly and the scale insect; the latter, in turn, secretes a sticky honeydew that promotes fungal attacks, notably sooty mold.
Through periodic treatments with antiparasitic and antifungal products, these unwelcome plant guests can be controlled, if not completely eradicated.
However, it is inevitable that the fruit absorbs, even in very small percentages, the chemicals that make up the phytosanitary products, meaning residues can also be found in the oil.
Growing awareness of organic products
In times like these, when discussions revolve around mad cow disease, dangerous feed, and risks to human health, consumer awareness about what they eat has rightly increased, making it an opportune moment to shift towards organic pest control methods.
The effective approach for olive trees applies the principle of sexual confusion, already used in other crops. Simplistically, it involves fooling male insects of the fly or scale insect by releasing the scent of female hormones to prevent fertilization, reproduction, and proliferation.
This can be achieved by hanging a container on the plant that emits the scent—that’s all.
Zumiani explains that the Agrarian Association began testing the sexual confusion method during the 1999 season in small, carefully selected areas, considering the local topography and climate (lowlands and humid environments) where plants are more vulnerable to pests: the Riva lakeside, an area of Torbole, and two locations in Arco.
And the results were more than promising. To put it in perspective, the director adds, if traditional control yields a score of one hundred, the organic method reaches around eighty.
Once perfected, the organic method will be as effective as chemical treatments.