Author: amandabailey

1997 the year I stepped into the Olive World in Australia. Since then I have had the privilege of working with many specialist researchers from all facets within the Industry from Australia and overseas. I am passionate about olives & our industry. I dedicate my work to enhance the production of groves (in all aspects of olives) through to commercial production. As founder of The Olive Centre, I wanted to be able to take out much of the guess work that growers in the earlier days faced in the trialling of equipment for the application of their use in Olives. This is the area I specialise in today in the Equipment, Machinery & Advice and provide a One-Stop-Shop to all Olive Growers. I have maintained a working relationship with well over 200 suppliers in order to bring the most up-to-date and cost effective equipment available today. All our equipment & machinery has been trialled in the commercial application of olives and through this our team at The Olive Centre hopes to ... help you achieve the maximum from your grove. Only through working together can we achieve a viable industry.

Impact of Herbicides on Olive Pollen Viability

Introduction Herbicides are essential tools in modern agriculture, but their unintended impact on pollination is a growing concern. Recent research by Dummer et al. (2025) has revealed that glyphosate and 2,4-D, two commonly used herbicides, can severely impair olive pollen germination, raising serious questions about their effects on fruit set and overall productivity in olive…

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Solutions for Entry-Level Olive Oil Extraction: How to Get Started

When it comes to olive oil extraction, the thought of owning your own machine for under $10,000 might seem like the dream addition to your olive tree journey, especially for hobbyists. However, producing a high-quality olive oil at a low price is impractical due to the complexity of the extraction process and the technical requirements…

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Enhancing Extra Virgin Olive Oil Quality Through Densimetric Sorting

During the recent research conducted by a team from DAGRI, Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agrarie, Alimentari, Ambientali e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Florence, Italy, a novel approach to post-harvest handling of olives was assessed: densimetric sorting (sorting olives by density).  This technique could allow producers to control the quality of extra virgin…

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Revolutionising Olive Variety Identification: AI Tool from GEN4OLIVE Spanish Project

An AI tool has been developed to identify olive varieties from images of olive pits, known as ‘OliVaR’. The neural network was trained using an extensive database of olive fruit endocarps (olive pits), compiled by partners of the GEN4OLIVE European project. With contributions from five germplasm banks across different countries and advancements in AI technology,…

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Assessing the Compatibility of Direct Alperujo Application with Soil Quality Protection

In Spain and other Mediterranean countries, the olive tree reigns supreme, producing not only world-renowned olive oil but also significant quantities of semi-solid olive mill waste are generated.  The mill waste is often referred to as alperujo in Spanish.  As a circular economy fertilisation and soil protection strategy, the direct application of alperujo to agricultural…

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Understanding Fruit and Flower Abortion/Drop in Fruit Trees: Causes and Remedies

During the 5th International Conference on Sustainable Agriculture and Biosystem, Researchers in Iran assessed various techniques for producers to consider reasons why fruit and flower losses occur.  Here we delve into the presentation and look at the causes and potential remedies for avoiding flower and fruit losses. The cultivation of fruit trees holds immense economic…

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Olive Oil’s Dizzying Rally to Last Another Year, EU says

In accordance with pricing trends observed in the olive oil sector according to Bloomberg, the European Commission projected on Monday that the surging olive oil prices in Europe will persist for another season, compelling consumers to make cutbacks in their consumption of this cherished staple. The ongoing season, which commenced this month, is anticipated to…

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