The Effect of Harvesting Time on Olive Fruits and Oils Quality Parameters of Tortiglione and Dritta Olive Cultivars

Abstract

Despite the fact that Italy holds the most important olives heritage in the world, with about 800 cultivars, most of them are still underestimated, in particular those from Abruzzo, a region located in the center of the peninsula. The aim of this work is to study the changes in quality parameters of olive fruits and related oils of two autochthonous Abruzzo olive cultivars, Tortiglione and Dritta during ripening (from September to November 2017). Both cultivar and ripening time affect the chemical parameters of olive fruits. Results highlight an increasing trend of the oil content with final values, based on fresh matter, of 38.7 ± 0.3% and 38.1 ± 0.9% for Tortiglione and Dritta, respectively. Olive oils chemical composition is also affected by ripening time and cultivar, with Tortiglione oils resulting generally richer than Dritta oils; on the first sampling time (30th of October) values for total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, and chlorophylls are 803.8 ± 68.2 mg gallic acid equivalent kg−1, 2.7 ± 0.5 mmol trolox equivalent kg−1, and 30.8 ± 1.6 mg pheophytin a kg−1, respectively. Tocopherols seem to be more affected by ripening time than by cultivar, in particular for Dritta. Practical Application: The results on Abruzzo minor olive cultivars indicate that olive fruits and olive oil composition are strongly influenced by both cultivar and ripening time, giving rational indications about the optimal cultivar specific harvesting time and opening interesting opportunities for olive oil producers in a perspective of sustainable production to obtain high quality fruits and oils. The research provides detailed information about Tortiglione and Dritta olive cultivar, useful in the global context of revaluation of Italian minor olive varieties.

Minor Variety of Campania Olive Germplasm (“Racioppella”): Effects of Kaolin on Production and Bioactive Components of Drupes and Oil

“…Olives and virgin olive oil are valuable sources of natural phenolic antioxidants that have beneficial effects on human health [ 12 , 36 ]. In the bibliography, there are several studies about the effect of kaolin on the phenolic and antioxidant components in drupes.…”

“…Despite the growing interest in high-quality olive oils, there are very few studies related to the olive drupes and oils of Campania minor cultivars as most of the works in literature are studies on major Italian cultivars. The study and recovery of minor cultivars existing in specific cultivation areas is very attractive and could represent a valid contribution to improve the range of products offered to consumers [ 12 ]. Olive diversity can be assessed by considering different characters which include morphological and agronomic traits [ 13 ], allozyme variations [ 14 ], DNA polymorphisms [ 13 , 15 ], and their combination [ 10 ].…”

Oil Quantity, Chemical and Organoleptic Properties of Three Olive Cultivars Grown under Irrigation at a Typical Arid Region in Jordan as Influenced by Harvesting Method and Date

“…The fact supports the hypothesis that mechanical harvesting causes internal breakages in the olive tissues, which makes it easier to extract oil (Yousfi et al, 2012). In addition, Tortiglione and Dritta olive cultivars showed clear variation during ripening from September to November 2017 (Flamminii et al, 2021).…”

“…The acidity significantly increased from 0.17% in October to 0.27% in November. Using Tortiglione and Dritta olive cultivars, clear variation in acidity% with progress from September to November 2017 (Flamminii et al, 2021).…”

Comprehensive Evaluation of Quality of <i>Camellia semiserrata</i> Seed Oils from Various Harvest Dates

“…significantly 6) . However, palm oil showed different rules that the contents of saturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids increased during ripening, while polyunsaturated fatty acids content decreased during ripening 7) .…”