"Greece Backs Living Soils and Integrated Control to Turn EVOO into Value"

Georgios Koubouris, Researcher and Head of the Olive Growing Laboratory at Greece’s Institute of Olive, Subtropical Crops and Viticulture

To kick things off: what scientific problem is keeping you up at night right now, and what strategic lines is the Institute pursuing to address it?

The Greek Agricultural Organization ELGO-DIMITRA is Greece’s national body for research, education, and certification in the agricultural sector. It has units across the country and a broad range of activities. The Institute of Olive, Subtropical Plants and Vine places strong emphasis on olive cultivation. Our goal is to generate new technical knowledge in collaboration with growers and adapt it to local conditions to meet their real problems and needs.

A fundamental challenge we face is maintaining sustainable agriculture and food production—economically and environmentally. This objective is affected by climate change and the frequent damage it causes to olive groves, as well as rising production costs that are driving the agricultural sector to economic ruin.

We propose an olive-growing model with practices that are environmentally friendly, help trees become more resilient to stress, and are economically realistic.

Between regulated deficit irrigation, cover crops, soil management, and rootstocks, which practices have the strongest evidence of real impact on resilience and yield (and which less so)?

Irrigation plays a decisive role in achieving stable, high yields and in mitigating the effects of drought and temperature on olive trees. Since water is not available for irrigation in most groves, farmers need to apply cultivation practices that enrich the soil with organic matter, contributing to overall soil health, improved fertility, and moisture retention.

We recommend recycling locally available organic materials—such as pruning residues, olive mill by-products—and sowing plant mixtures with an emphasis on nitrogen fixers. In other crops there has been major progress in selecting rootstocks resistant to environmental stress, but in olives this research needs further development.

Beyond Xylella, what emerging threats do you see, and what minimum surveillance and biosecurity protocol would you recommend for any farm?

A very significant risk for olives is Verticillium, which spreads rapidly and causes severe damage, especially in areas that previously grew sensitive crops like cotton and where there is a high inoculum load in the soil. It is important to avoid tillage, disinfect pruning tools, and plant certified propagation material.

Major yield losses are also caused by certain insect pests such as the olive fruit fly (Dacus oleae), which can affect up to 100% of the fruit. We recommend implementing a year-round integrated control system combining multiple methods and formulations.

How would you describe the current moment for Greece’s EVOO sector, and which levers are key to moving from volume to value—brand, phenolic quality, sustainability, or vertical integration?

Greece is seeing significant progress in the production of high-quality olive oil through environmentally friendly farming systems and outstanding examples of bottling and sales promotion.

Since the main limiting factor is the high cost of production—due to small plot sizes and mountainous terrain—synergies are needed to achieve sustainability, such as cooperative collaboration and contract farming.

A key point for sector development is the triad: quality – environmental sustainability – connection with history and culture.

As a member of the OOWC Scientific Committee, how are your institute and you contributing to the upcoming program?

The next congress stands out from other events by focusing on new technologies that can revolutionize all phases of olive cultivation and olive oil production.

The Institute of Olive, Subtropical Plants and Vine – ELGO-DIMITRA hosts one of the International Collections of Olive Varieties recognized by the International Olive Council, and has state-of-the-art plant phenotyping infrastructure.

At the upcoming congress, we intend to present advances in plant phenotyping and their groundbreaking applications for improving olive growing.