Technical and economic analysis of alternative pruning systems in high dimensions olive trees in Calabria

Oliviculture in Calabria accounts for 30% of the agricultural gross regional production. On the Gioia Tauro plain, located in the province of Reggio Calabria, the oliviculture area is extended over more than 20,000 hectares. The olive trees in this area are characterised by a remarkable growth with trees reaching and often exceeding 25 metres in height. In these extreme conditions all the cultural operations are technically and economically complex. Particularly complex are the pruning operations, normally done with traditional methods, which are dangerous for the operators, who have to climb the trees to make the cuts with chain saws. The objective of this study is to encourage the use of mechanical systems, specifically truck-mounted telescopic platforms, to secure operators and lower the pruning costs. They were therefore analysed two operating systems, the traditional and the mechanical, comparing the working capacity of different yards. The results have been encouraging although the machines utilised can be rationally introduced only on large farms, while the small farms have to rely on cooperatives of services or on contractors.