In 2024, the European project Soil O-live has completed its first phase of assessing the soil health of Mediterranean olive groves and has begun the second stage of implementing solutions. In this sense, the project coordinator and researcher of the Ecology Unit of the University Institute of Research on Olive Grove and Olive Oils (INUO) of the University of Jaén is emphasising the training and awareness of the agricultural sector on the situation of soil health, promoting soil sustainability.
In the Soil O-live project, a total of 500 soil samples from 52 farms in Spain, Greece, Portugal, Italy and Morocco have been analysed. These first results have shown ‘a picture of the soil that can be improved’ in key indicators for soil health, especially those related to soil compaction, copper accumulation, erosion rates, amount of organic matter, presence of microplastics, soil fertility and soil respiration, the latter parameter giving approximate information on soil biodiversity. During 2024, these results have been presented in the 14 sustainability trainings held in the framework of the project and in the ‘Soil Mission Week’ in Brussels in November.
Specifically, INUO and Deoleo Global, members of the Soil O-Live consortium, have promoted training and awareness-raising in the agricultural sector, reaching more than 300 farmers and communicating their responsibility to implement sustainable practices in their olive groves to care for the soil and maintain its function. For that, 14 training sessions were held in Andalusia, Extremadura and Portugal, beginning with a first section on the objectives of the project, the analyses carried out and the first results, and a second section in which Deoleo explained its sustainability protocol, highlighting the importance of raising awareness for the production of sustainable olive oils.
On the other hand, the second phase of the Soil O-live Project has begun, where possible remediation solutions are being provided to improve the situation of the olive grove soil, through the use of biochar, compost or the inoculation of microorganisms such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. In this line, these actions have been implemented on the ‘El Valle’ farm located in Cordoba towns of ‘Cañete de las Torres’ and ‘Baena’, specifically, different organic amendment and electro-remediation treatments have been implemented in order to study their possible impact on soil health indicators and on the yield of those olive trees treated, for example, with the application of biochar generated from wet olive pomace from the olive grove. Moreover, this charcoal produced by the company Carboliva, located in ‘Puente del Obispo’ (Jaén), is characterised by its very porous structure, giving it a great capacity to retain water-soluble nutrients and water, improving soil conditions. Similarly, a microbial inoculum, provided by the dutch company Reka, has been applied in order to determine the effect of mycorrhizae-forming fungi inoculated with the intention of improving crop nutrition.
In terms of scientific impact, a new genus of free-living nematode has been discovered and has led to the first scientific publication within the framework of the Soil O-live project in the journal ‘Zoosystematics and Evolution’ under the title ‘Oleaxonchium olearum gen. et sp. nov. (Nematoda, Dorylaimida) associated with an olive grove in the southern Iberian Peninsula, and new insights into the evolutionary relationships within Belondiridae’, by Reyes Peña Santiago, Miriam García Ruiz, Alba N. Ruiz Cuenca and Joaquín Abolafia Cobaleda, members of the Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology of the University of Jaén and researchers attached to the project.
Another milestone that has marked 2024 has been the celebration of the 1st International Soil O-Live Competition: Soil Health & Olive Oil Quality Awards 2024 where, in addition to the quality of the participating olive oils, the health of the olive grove soils has been valued. These awards were held in the facilities of the University of Jaén, located in the Natural Park of Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas, where an oil of the ‘Arbequina’ variety from Almazaras de La Subbética, an oil of the ‘Itrana’ variety from the Iannotta estate and a ‘Hojiblanca’ from Finca La Torre de Málaga were awarded. In addition, a special mention was awarded to the farm with the healthiest soil, specifically to Dimitris Mitaros from Briani, located on the island of Lesbos in Greece. At the same time as the awards ceremony, the workshop ‘Diagnosis of the Mediterranean olive grove soil’ was held at the Torre del Vinagre facilities. This meeting allowed the members of the consortium to analyse some of the most relevant results of the first months, especially those related to soil contamination by the use of phytosanitary products such as pesticides, copper or antibiotics, or the nitrogen cycle in the olive grove and how it affects soil loss.
Finally, the Soil O-live project has participated in numerous events related to the olive and soil sectors, such as the ‘V International Congress on Olive Oils, Olive Grove and Health’, the ‘6th International Yale Symposium on Olive Oil and Health’ held in Crete, the ‘Olive Oil World Congress’, the ‘II Forum of Young Soil Researchers in the Soil Carbon’, the ‘European Mission Soil Week’ in Brussels, the ‘Meeting on Integrated Protection of Olive Crops’ in Baeza, the ‘Symposium on Environmental Engineering‘ in Palermo, the ‘Annual meeting of the ISO Technical Committee for Soil Quality ISO/TC190’, the ‘II Oliday Conference’ in Greece, the ‘OrgHort 2024 Symposium’ in Warsaw (Poland), the ‘Agroecology Europe Association annual meeting’ in Brussels, the ‘#75thISE de Montréal’ or the ‘Annual meeting of the European Soil O-Live Project’ in January in Mytilene.
Source: ‘Diario Digital’ of the University of Jaén (13/01/2025)
