The advanced pruning workshop with Antonio Cutro yielded the results we had set out to achieve: learning a method for reshaping large olive trees into a polyconic form, trees that show signs of having been trained differently over many years.
The transition from the old shape to the new one leaves a considerable amount of branches on the ground, but to avoid overdoing it, the reshaping is carried out in stages, with the completion of the operation deferred until at least the second year of pruning. The remaining cuts are already clearly marked, and all that remains is to make them.
Caught up in our enthusiasm, we’re forgetting to introduce our guide: Antonio Cutro, a forestry doctor and arborist, is an expert olive tree pruner. His great passion for caring for this plant—and for working at heights as a tree climber—has led him to tend to century-old olive trees, some of which are monumental in size. These tasks bring him into closer contact than ever with the olive tree’s great expressive creativity—an extremely long-lived plant that tolerates human intervention more than most, yet must not be managed carelessly for that very reason.
Antonio provided participants with a clear perspective on how to approach a reform pruning into a polyconic shape on olive trees that have a varied, often inconsistent history, one that has resulted in cuts on the tree stemming from haphazard, sometimes excessive pruning.
The advanced pruning workshop with Antonio Cutro yielded the results we had set out to achieve: learning a method for reshaping large olive trees into a polyconic form that show signs of a previous pruning approach.
For better or worse, such a troubled past is common to almost all olive trees over half a century old, having undergone a succession of different and uncoordinated pruning methods. At times, changes in training systems were dictated by the various harvesting methods used over time: by hand, with a ladder, or with modern olive harvesters or shakers.
The olive trees we “found” at Salte Trusche are of the Caninese variety, planted around the 1960s: trees that suffered the 1985 frost and were pollarded at the base to be re-trained into a bushy vase shape, that is, with multiple branches sprouting directly from the ground rather than from a main trunk. This choice was certainly dictated by the greater speed with which olive trees can be brought back into production in this way.
With Antonio, on this day, we chose to reshape a rather imposing olive tree, with more branches than the standard for the polyconic shape (which calls for three to five).
Today, together with Antonio, we decided to prune back a rather imposing olive tree, which had more branches than the standard ‘policonico’ style (which calls for three to five).
The first task set for the participants (and indeed for anyone preparing to prune an olive tree) was to observe: what is the plant’s state of health? Does it appear vigorous or is it showing signs of distress? Antonio guided us to look for clues by observing its shape and trying to note the relationship between the black (the older branches with very dark bark), the grey (the younger branches, whose bark is this colour) and the green (the foliage). An abundance of grey and green indicates a more vigorous olive tree, capable of significant photosynthesis, and whose young branches we can select for the new shape.
Once its state of health has been established (good, in our case), the first decision will be: to what extent shall we prune this tree? If vigour is low, we must limit ourselves to a more moderate pruning; otherwise, we can plan a more substantial intervention.
The second task asked of the participants was to refrain from doing what many pruners do immediately, almost automatically: removing the inner shoots on the underside of the branches (known as ‘suckers’ or ‘replacements’), those we are accustomed to regarding as superfluous and which, moreover, obstruct our view and hinder our work whilst pruning. Instead, as well as not necessarily being useless, these are the ones that tell us the story of an olive tree: how the plant has reacted to past pruning and how we can therefore expect it to react to future pruning. We will therefore keep them until almost the very end, selecting them last and allowing them, in the meantime, to serve as our ‘compass’.
The third fundamental step is an attitude we must adopt: striving to think in positive terms, that is, first identifying what we like and wish to keep rather than what we would like to see fall to the ground. This is done by choosing the preferred branch, after observing all the relevant parameters: its direction and angle, the health of the bark, the presence of well-directed secondary branches and a vigorous crown, and low, already productive twigs ideal for a polyconical shape.
After making the necessary cuts on this first branch, we will continue our way round the olive tree, determining step by step which other branches should be retained to give the tree its new shape and which, on the other hand, should be removed.
If we wish to go into detail regarding the specific cuts to be made on each branch as we go along, let us outline the main guidelines that emerged from our discussion with Antonio.
Firstly, we need to identify the crown that seems most suitable. Remember that the general rules of polyconic vase pruning require each main branch to culminate in a very distinct apex. The choice of this apex should, generally speaking, satisfy several criteria: vigour, height, and alignment with the branch’s growth habit.
What we feel is important to note is that, once chosen, the fundamental task is to provide it with light (the olive tree is a sun-loving plant; the parts most exposed to the sun and least shaded thrive), by removing other tips that might challenge its dominance.
This operation, however, in Antonio Cutro’s approach, is far from drastic and does not require the indiscriminate removal of all competing shoots. One must carefully observe which shoots the olive tree has invested its energy in up to that point, and at that stage ‘engage in dialogue’ with its choices and send it a clear message regarding the alternatives we are suggesting. From this perspective, the removal of some shoots can be postponed until the following year, when the new shape we are suggesting has become ‘acceptable’, because in the meantime its diameter has increased.
Every cut made or postponed by Antonio during pruning is the very result of this constant dialogue that must be established with the plant; if observed correctly, the plant provides us with all the necessary guidance to tailor our intervention in such a way as to avoid excessive vegetative growth, which would make pruning complicated or very labour-intensive in subsequent years.
It is precisely because of Antonio’s keen eye, which has the great merit of being combined with clear teaching, that we look forward to next year, when we hope to welcome him back to continue the work begun this year at Salte Trusche.
Pruning must be a responsible act, carried out with the necessary skills, and the quality of this work can make olive cultivation more sustainable, enjoyable and fruitful.
To book your place on the next course at the start of the year, please email us: saltetrusche@gmail.com