REGISTERED

NURSERIES

NURSERY TREE

QUALITY STANDARDS

SA OLIVE SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE PROPAGATION OF OLIVE TREES, AND ACCEPTANCE OF NURSERY TREES AT THE TIME OF DELIVERY

  • Nurseries must be registered with the National Department of Agriculture (Plant and Quality Control).
  • Nurseries must ensure that plant material used for propagation is true-to-type (of the stated cultivars as listed in the cultivar list as amended from time to time. This cultivar list comprises all the cultivars which can be propagated for sale in South Africa and which are described in accordance with international standards and regulations.)
    1. In the case of trees grafted or budded on to a rootstock, such rootstock shall also be listed and true-to-type.
    2. Trees are to be propagated according to the established method of rooting semi-hardwood cuttings by mist propagation or in hotbins or by in vitro micropropagation techniques, and in the case of the latter, this shall be specified.
    3. In the case of trees grafted or budded on to a clonal rootstock, such trees shall be specified as budded or grafted on to a specific listed clonal rootstock. Such rootstock shall also be propagated by means of semi-hardwood cuttings or by micropropagation techniques, and in the case of the latter, this shall be specified. Shoots of plants propagated via in vitro methods shall not have originated from callus tissue (adventitious buds), but only from axillary buds.
  • Nurseries shall honour all propagation and patent rights of owners and license holders of registered plant material.
  • Trees are to be sold in plastic planting bags/containers, ready to be planted in the orchard, or as recently rooted bare-rooted trees to be hardened off in a nursery phase where requested.
  • Trees should be free of all pests and diseases, both above and below the soil. Each batch of soil and compost material used must be free of salts, nematodes and pathogens and where necessary sterilized or fumigated.
  • Trees shall be sprayed with the necessary fungicides and insecticides on a regular basis to prevent any infestation of olive leaf spot, anthracnose, scale, tingid or any other pest.
  • Trees should not suffer from any nutrient deficiencies or physical damage.
  • Soil in the planting bag should be well drained, well aerated and free of weeds.
  • The root system should be fibrous and well branched, but not pot bound.
  • Olive trees are to have one main upright growing leader, preferably staked, with some optional, desirable secondary laterals from about 20-30cm upwards.
  • Nurseries must ensure that trees are at all times correctly and clearly identified and labelled according to the cultivar list with names correctly spelt. Where batches of more than 100 trees of a single cultivar are grouped together, then one label per 50 trees is sufficient as long as cultivars are kept separate at all times. Varietal colour coding is recommended so that each olive variety can be clearly identified by colour.The coding is defined as follows:
    1. Frantoio – olive green
    2. Leccino – orange
    3. Coratina – red
    4. Mission – white
    5. Nocellara – pink
    6. Manzanilla – light green
    7. Delicata (I77) – blue
    8. Barouni – yellow
    9. Favolosa (FS17)
    10. Kalamata
  • Trees to be hardened off to at least 30% shade.
  • Trees are to be classified according to size as follows:
    1. Extra Large: 100cm or more in height with a basal stem diameter of over 0.9cm.
    2. Large: between 75 – 100cm in height with a basal stem diameter of 0.7 to 0.9cm
    3. Medium: 50 – 75cm in height with a basal stem diameter of 0.5 to 0.7cm
    4. Small: under 50cm.
  • Nurseries are responsible for the replacement of trees that are found to be not true to type within 5 years from date of purchase.