Farga olive, is a traditional variety of the province of Castellón (Baix Maestrat).
The variety exceeds the 20,000 hectares of olive groves, for the most part, these are centuries-old olive groves.
In Castellón the Farga olive variety has more than 13,000 hectares of cultivation, in the south of Tarragona 7,000-8,000 are calculated hectares and also has some presence in Lérida.
Curiosities: Commercially the existence of olive groves with hundreds of years is being exploited and Extra Virgin olive oils labeled “Farga 1000 years“, “Millennial Oil” etc…
This is a good way to obtain profitability from the traditional olive grove and help maintain the historical heritage of Spanish olive groves.
An olive tree of this variety, called’ La Farga de Arion‘, in Ulldecona (Tarragona), is considered the oldest olive tree in Spain, planted the year 314, it has a whopping 1,703 years.
Names or synonyms: This variety of olive trees is mostly known by Farga, although infrequently, they can also be referred to as Common and Farg.
Characteristics of Farga olive tree
Farga olive tree is arousing interest in the characteristics of the oil from its centuries-old olive groves. The Farga olive tree is in clear decline against more known and productive varieties ( Picual, Arbequina, Hojiblanca, < em>Empeltre, Arróniz…). Currently, the increase in the market of premium olive oils can help curb this trend.
Productivity: the Farga olive , is not very early, but productive.
Regularity of bearing: Farga olive variety is very true. Probably the fact that the olive groves are centuries-old and with a low leaf / wood ratio, influence it.
Flowering : the Farga olive tree has early flowering.
Vigor and bearing of the tree: It has a very strong vigor and is open bearing. It responds well to severe pruning (it has a good ability to regrow after renewal pruning).
Leaf: The variety of Olive Farga has the leaf shape elliptical, cuts and of average width.
Diseases: Farga is resistant to tuberculosis, but sensitive to repilo, Colletotrichum sp in olives and Verticillium.
Multiplication: The Farga olive plant has low rooting capacity. It can be used as a standard to increase the vigor of other olive varieties.
Farga olives, morphological characteristics
The characteristics of the Farga olives, make it only suitable for oil production.
Maturation: Farga olives are of early maturation.
However, in many areas it is expected mid-season to facilitate collection.
Size: Farga olive has medium size (2.4 grams) .
Shape: Farga olives have elongated and slightly asymmetric.
Skin color: the variety of Farga olives, ripens with black color.
Pulp: The ratio bone pulp is low, so it is not a good variety to be used in dressing.
Yield: Farga olive olives have high yield. With excessively late harvests it can exceed 25% (due to loss of moisture from the olives). Like varieties like Alfafara or Picholine Marocaine, the oil is more difficult to extract from other olive varieties.
Collection: Farga olive tree has high resistance to detachment. Its high resistance to detachment, together with the fact that a large part of the olive trees are centuries-old and of considerable height, make mechanized harvesting difficult.
Uses: Farga olives are used to produce olive oil.
Advantages: Centennial olive oil is increasingly appreciated. The olives yield is high and has a high productive capacity.
Disadvantages: High collection difficulty. Irregular production. Higher productions of other varieties encourage their substitution.
Farga Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Farga, stands out especially for the age of the olive groves where it is produced. It has good organoleptic characteristics, increasingly appreciated by the Gourmet olive oil sector.
Taste: Farga EVOO has an early taste and medium bitter and spicy, well defined, persistent in the mouth. The aroma is highly fruity, with the smell of freshly cut grass, almonds or green nuts.
Properties: It has a percentage of medium oleic acid (70%) and is of medium stability.
Price : Some oils are very exclusive extracted from millenary olive trees protected and with exorbitant prices, which exceed € 100/liter.
Recommended reading
Arbequina olive oil
Olive fly
Super high density olive grove
Olive tree erinosis
Types of olive diseases
Warning
We have translated the information on our website from Spanish to English. Note that some words may have seen their meaning altered during their translation.