🫒 Rowghani

Rowghani is an Iranian olive cultivar, second in the country by area after Zard; its fruit goes both into oil and into green table olives. The International Olive Council suggests that the name refers to the high oil content of the fruit. It is also known as Roghani and Syah-Zeitoon.

Rowghani grows mainly in northern Iran — in Gilan, Qazvin, Zanjan and the Sefid-Rud river basin, where it makes up about a quarter of all plantings. In total it covers about 17,600 hectares. Most of Iran's olives belong to ten traditional cultivars, and Rowghani is one of the main ones.

The tree is vigorous, with an upright, sparse canopy. The fruit is of medium weight and dark violet when fully ripe. In Rudbar and Tarom it contains 20–25% oil, and the oil itself is about 65% oleic acid. The cultivar starts bearing early; yields are high but alternate from year to year. The fruit holds firmly to the branches, the flesh is soft and the stone separates easily.

Rowghani roots well from cuttings and is easily propagated by tissue culture. It copes poorly with drought and saline soils, tolerates cold moderately and is susceptible to verticillium wilt. The cultivar is self-incompatible: Zard, Leccino, Fishomi, Bladi and Manzanilla are considered its best pollinators.

In practice. Iran is a small producer of olive oil: in 2009/10 it made about 4,000 tonnes. An oil that names Rowghani is therefore a rarity, mostly from the north of the country. As the cultivar serves two purposes, its fruit can also turn up among green table olives.