🫒 Zard

Zard is the most widespread olive cultivar in Iran. It covers about 44,000 hectares, and in the north of the country — in the provinces of Gilan, Zanjan and Qazvin and in the Sefidrud river valley — it accounts for 45% of groves. In Persian the name means “yellow”: the cultivar got it from the yellowish colour of the tree.

Zard is one of ten traditional cultivars that make up most of Iran's olive trees. The country's cultivar diversity is concentrated in the Sefidrud, Tarom and Manjil valleys, 60–70 km from the Caspian Sea; olives also grow in the south, in Khuzestan and Fars.

Farmers value Zard for its high yields and dual purpose. The fruit holds 20–25% oil, with about 78% oleic acid. It is large, moderately elongated and dark purple when ripe, with two lengthwise lines on its sides that can be felt even before ripening. The stone comes away easily from the flesh. Yields are irregular: a rich year is followed by a weaker one.

Zard cannot pollinate itself, so other cultivars are planted nearby — Leccino, Bladi, Mari, Rowghani. It is wind-resistant and tolerates cold and drought moderately, but suffers from verticillium wilt. Cuttings root well in a greenhouse with mist.

Good to know. Zard is uncommon outside Iran, and no EU protected name involves it. It is most often met as green olives in brine or as local oil from the north of the country. It is also made into black olives: in a 2023 study, Zard from Gilan, like six other Iranian cultivars, gave black olives of the top sensory category “extra”, and its flesh was nearly as firm as Spain's Hojiblanca.