As part of the Gen4Olives project, in which the Italian company Agricolus and BrioAgro are working together, the farm will be monitored by satellite and sensors will be installed in the rainfed olive groves of two varieties:
Manzanilla: More specifically, Manzanilla Sevillana, a variety that in Spain does not require the use of pollinator varieties, as is the case in other countries. This olive is characterised by having a lot of pulp and a capacity to produce oil of around 20%. This EVOO stands out for the personality of its aroma and for maintaining a perfect balance between its bitter sweet and spicy notes. Undoubtedly, a luxury worthy of the most demanding palates.
Arbequina: Its olive is small, it enters into production quickly and has a good yield. The main characteristic of arbequina oil is that it is a sweet oil, that is to say, it has no bitter aftertaste. Some arbequina oil can sting in the throat, indicating simply that it is fresh. In general, arbequina olive oil is suitable for those who are looking for an extra virgin olive oil with a mild taste.
The selected farms are located in:
- Arbequina: Lora de Estepa, 41564, Seville, Andalusia, Spain
- Manzanilla: Estepa, 41560, Seville, Andalusia, Spain
Located 120 km from the capital of Andalusia, Seville. Both farms are in the province of Seville, in two neighbouring towns. Both farms are only 15 km apart.
Arbequina: Lora de Estepa, 41564, Seville, Andalusia, Spain
Both farms are part of the second-degree cooperative society Oleoestepa, a producer and marketer of extra virgin olive oil founded in 1986.
This cooperative group currently groups together more than 7,000 farmers with some 62,000 hectares of olive groves, which represents an ecosystem of more than 7 million olive trees cultivated using integrated and organic production techniques that guarantee their sustainability.
Installation.
Although the planned date was at the beginning of 2023, we took the decision to anticipate and carry out the installation at the end of 2022, on 28 November. Fortunately it was days before several weeks of rain, which helped us to calibrate the soil moisture sensors well, as well as to see how the moisture behaves at different depths in a soil that has dried out after a long period of drought.
Tracking camera. This project has included the use of a high resolution video camera, which can withstand the harsh field conditions, and which is powered by solar energy. It is a camera that allows an almost complete rotation of approx. 330º.
Manzanilla: Estepa, 41560, Seville, Andalusia, Spain
Meteorology.
The BrioAgro application allows the monitoring of 15 meteorological indicators, obtained through the geolocation of the farm, these indicators are of great help, and do not require investment in sensors, in fact many agricultural technicians who have used it, say that for making agronomic decisions it is a more than sufficient tool, with the added bonus of showing the forecasts of these indicators by hours to 7 and 15 days, which help the farmer to better plan his next week of work.
The indicators for each farm that will be provided to the GEN4OLIVES project are:
- Ambient temperature (ºC)
- Relative humidity (%)
- Atmospheric pressure (mbar)
- Water deficit (g H2O / kg of air)
- DPV-Vapour pressure deficit (KPa)
- Solar ultraviolet radiation (UV index)
- Cloud cover (%)
- Rainfall [l / m2]
- Sunshine hours (h)
- Wind speed (km / h)
- Wind direction
- Dew point (ºC)
- Active thermal integral
- Effective thermal integral
- Accumulated hours of cold