STUDENT LOGIN
Email :
Password :
 
LECTURER LOGIN
Username :
Password :
 
Online Exam Programme
SOFLONLINE NEWS
ONLINE DICTIONARY
SITE STATISTICS
Online Visitors :
7
Today Visitors :
84
Total Visitors :
808114
Registered Users :
10418
Reading Hall  » OLIVE

 Olive is the fruit of a tree that grows in subtropical regions. Olives are cultivated chiefly for their oil, which is used in cooking. The fruit is also eaten whole after processing. People have grown olives since prehistoric times. It is thought that the fruit first grew in the eastern Mediterranean basin. Centuries ago, it began to grow wild around the Mediterranean Sea. The Spaniards brought olives to South America, and they were introduced into California in 1769.

Appearance of the fruit and tree. The fruit may be oval or oblong. As it matures, it turns from green to yellow to red to purple-black. It has a smooth skin, and its flesh surrounds a hard pit. Both the flesh and the seed in the pit contain oil, which makes up 10 to 40 percent of the mature fresh fruits weight. Fresh olives contain oleuropein, a bitter substance that makes them unpleasant to eat before processing. During processing, this substance is largely or entirely removed.

The olive trees bark and leaves are a soft gray-green, and its trunk becomes gnarled as it ages. Olive trees live longer than most other fruit trees. There are olive trees in Palestine that may be more than 2,000 years old.

A mature olive tree may have as many as 500,000 small flowers. Most of the flowers are imperfect, and fruit cannot grow from them. They give off pollen, which is usually carried from flower to flower by the wind. Most varieties of olive trees bear a large crop one season and a small crop the next.

Cultivation. Parts cut off from an olive tree may take root and grow into new trees. The trees will grow in many types of soil but need good drainage. To produce large fruit, the grower must irrigate and prune the trees, and thin the fruit. Fertilizers that add nitrogen to the soil can increase yields. The olive tree will grow where the climate is hot and dry. But for bearing good fruit, the tree needs a moderate supply of water. The fruit matures from October to January and is injured if the temperature falls below 26 °F (-3 °C). The tree itself is not seriously injured until the temperature falls to 16 °F (-9 °C). The fruit needs much heat to have a good quality when mature. The air must be dry when the flowers blossom, and also when the fruit begins to grow.

Soflonline Distance Learning Technologies 2008-2021. All Rights Reserved.