REPORTAGE – While harvest time has come at the beginning of November, the trees are not ready. In many places, the branches are far from bending under the weight of the fruit. And to make matters worse, many olives are attacked by tiny parasitic flies.
Why is this olive tree covered with fruit while this neighboring one seems completely bare? “Oh, you know, I don’t explain anything anymore“replies, a little disillusioned at the Figaro, Jean-Yves Lessatini, owner of the olive-growing estate that bears his name, in La Trinité, in the hinterland of Nice. With his yellow t-shirt and his good meter 90, this fifty-year-old with a peaceful gait does not go unnoticed in the middle of some 1,300 olive trees that plant his land, over 10 hectares. Some, he assures him, would even have millennial roots.
As old as they are, these cailletiers – who offer Man and birds the famous olives of Nice – have probably never lived through such a difficult period in their history. And for good reason, while harvest time has come in early November, the trees are not ready. In many places, the branches are far from bending under the weight of the fruit. And to make matters worse, many olives are attacked by tiny parasitic flies.
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“Last year already, we had a blank year because of the frost which had burned the shoots and the small buds. And this year, we had the right to a heat wave at the time of flowering, Jean-Yves explains to us, while walking on the large nets that catch the olives when they fall to the ground. On the highest plots in altitude, which are the last to start flowering, we ended up with stems and lots of flower buds that burned in June. This is why we now find ourselves with plots where there is not a single olive. Not to mention the very hot and very dry summer and the same autumn, too hot and too dry.
“If the olive tree bears fruit, it is not to please us”
The fine grass, which must usually be mowed before laying the ecru nets – otherwise it would climb to knee height – has not grown all summer, indisputable proof of the damage caused by the drought. “It’s the first time that I don’t care about weed, it’s all out of ordercomments the olive grower. Between January and September, it must have rained twice, we took 20 mm of water, maximum. Even though the olive tree does not need a lot of water, it is not enough.»
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While strolling under the trees, Jean-Yves seems to address them as if they could hear him. “If the olive tree bears fruit, it is not to please us. It is to perpetuate the species. The fruits are eaten by birds, spit out a little further, and with a bit of luck, another olive tree will grow. On the other hand, if it feels (the olive tree editor’s note) that its balance is in danger, it will lose its fruits before they are ripe. In a way, he says to himself ”I’d rather save my apple than my offspring”. And this year, that’s exactly what’s happening.”
The olive fly, the sworn enemy of olive growers
But surprisingly, this year, despite the heatwaves and severe drought, many fruits remained attached to their branches. “I can’t explain how! It’s been a bit of a weird year.”, continues Jean-Yves. The 50-year-old believes that his trees are only “only 25% of what they should bear fruit”. Concretely, this means that over his entire estate, Jean-Yves would have to harvest the olives from 300 to 400 cailletiers. “Usually there are about eight of us to harvest, this year there will be only four.”
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The abnormally high temperatures in October also favored the proliferation of a small flying parasite, the sworn enemy of olive growers: the olive fly. A tiny, silent insect that would be hard to notice if its wings weren’t shining in the sunlight. “The fly will lay an egg in the olive, and soon a small glass will grow and feed on the fruit, before becoming a fly itself and so on”explains Jean-Yves, an olive in his hand, “pierced” by the insect.
Thus, a single fly can attack several hundred olives. Problem, once pricked, the olives lose their oil and oxidize in no time. And even if these would manage to “heal”, it is therefore no longer possible to sell them as table olives. To overcome this threat and protect the fruit, some olive growers like Jean-Yves, spray natural clay. An effective barrier in the short term but also subject to the vagaries of the climate.
Towards a price increase
“This year we are all in the same boat! The fly did not strike at all this summer, but with the first rains and the favor of the October weather, it proliferated at full speed. Five years ago, those who were at altitude did not know the fly, but now it affects everyone» indicates to Figaro the Nice Olive Interprofessional Syndicate (SION).
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“The other particularity is that we see a coloring of the olive very early. Many olives have been black as early as September, but that’s not actually a sign of ripeness. Because inside, they remain green. In the same way as the rise of oil elsewhere. She too was ahead this year, but we realized that she was extremely bitter.continues the union.
These disturbances should lead to an increase in the price of the olive. While some are talking about a 30% price increase, the SION wants to be more cautious. “The increase is certain, but after that it depends on each one. We cannot speak of a general increase.For his part, Jean-Yves, who is “fallen into the olive when [il] was small”as he likes to repeat, only asks for one thing: “to live on the fruit of [son] work!”