RESEARCH & INNOVATION
Pruning
As far as pruning is concerned, for example, in our areas we tend to prune using a traditional method called ‘belicino vase’, the aim of which is to keep the productive fringes low and facilitate harvesting, to the detriment of the illumination and aeration of the foliage.
Instead, we use ‘polyconic vase‘ pruning, the aim of which is to allow light to enter the foliage and aerate the inside of the plant.
We therefore have healthier plants from a phytosanitary point of view.
This pruning is more effective and targeted than the traditional method and allows for an optimal vegetative-productive balance. It is a method widely used in other olive-growing areas but which is not yet so widespread in Sicily.
We protect plants
and the environment
To combat the attack of the fly on olive trees, we use an innovative technique. We spray the leaves with Spintor Fly, a product with a honey-like consistency and of vegetable origin, therefore not harmful to the plant and the environment, which makes the leaf sticky. In this way, the insect remains attached to it, thus having no way of stinging the olive.
Another innovation that few still apply in Sicily and of which we are supporters is ‘spontaneous grassing‘, the aim of which is to cover the soil to protect it from driving rain, prevent erosion and, at the same time, protect biodiversity. This is why under the olive trees or in the vineyards we cultivate, you will often find wild plants (e.g. sorrel, yellow mustard, white mustard and many others), whose roots allow the soil to be oxygenated by cracking.
In addition to this, they store and conserve the minerals in the soil, particularly nitrogen, and then release it when they are worked (mowed).
Milling
Once the olives arrive at the mill, they are milled using an Alfa laval two-stage extraction process. This technology does not use dilution water to avoid washout of the olives and uses low temperatures.
In this way, the product retains its aromas and flavours, as well as a high level of polyphenols.
Innovation is having brought an ancestral technique,
typical of North East Italy, here in Sicily, in order to produce new and original sparkling wines.