🫒 Arbosana

Arbosana is a Spanish oil olive cultivar with small fruit and a low tree well suited to dense hedgerow orchards. According to the International Olive Council's World Catalogue of Olive Varieties, it probably comes from Penedès in Catalonia and has recently been spreading throughout Spain.

The tree is low-vigour, with a dense canopy. It roots easily, starts bearing very early and gives high, steady yields. That is why, since 2002, Arbosana has been planted alongside Arbequina in commercial hedgerow orchards. Such cultivars are few: of more than 600 cultivars in the world germplasm bank, only four to six suit super-high-density orchards, and Arbosana is among the most widely grown.

In a trial in Tunisia, planted in 2003 at 1,250 trees per hectare, Arbosana produced the most fruit of the four cultivars over the first five harvests and showed the least alternation between good and poor years. The authors concluded that it had adapted best to such density.

The fruit ripens late and holds firmly to the branches, so harvesting it with a trunk shaker is difficult. The oil content is medium, but the oil is valued for its good sensory qualities. The cultivar is cold-hardy and resistant to repilo (olive leaf spot), but sensitive to olive knot.

Why it matters to you. Arbosana is often named in the same breath as Arbequina, yet they are different cultivars with different oils. In the same Tunisian trial, Arbosana oil held 68–69% oleic acid against 61–65% for Arbequina, and Arbosana also had the least linoleic acid. So the cultivar name on a label is no small detail.