How Much Crop Would You Expect From an Olive Tree?

Yield Factors

• The amount of crop you receive from an olive tree depends on many factors, including its size and variety. Age also affects yield. Olive trees begin producing fruit after 5 years of age, for instance, but the tree's yield does not fully optimize until after 10 years. The tree reaches peak production between 30 to 70 years of age. Growing conditions, such as the amount of fertilizer applied, also affect how much fruit the tree produces from year to year. Diseases also keep a tree from producing successfully; olive rot, for instance, directly reduces fruit yield due to the death of infected shoots.

Water

• Adequate water is vital to olive tree productivity. Even though olives are fairly drought resistant, water levels directly affect the tree's crop yield. Low yields of olive crop may be the result of inadequate irrigation practices. Two waterings to a full depth of the roots will keep a tree in good health. A 1994 University of California study revealed a direct connection between irrigation and crop yield, showing that olive trees that receive regular watering produce more fruit that those that suffer drought.

Average Yield

• Although olive trees produce varying yields from year to year, there are standard low and high yields of crop. A low yield for an olive tree is approximately 33 to 110 pounds of fruit. During a good year, in which the tree's requirements are optimally met in every way, an olive tree may produce up to 150 to 200 pounds of olives.

Oil Yield

• On the average, about 9 pounds of olives produces 1 pound of olive oil. However, even though a tree may produce more olives in one year over another, this does not necessarily guarantee an equal increase in oil production. The oil yield of an olive crop depends on many variables, such as variety, water content and the oil extraction methods. Whether oil is extracted via traditional press methods or through a large oil refinery, processing the olives at low temperatures (under 40 degrees Celsius) produces the highest yield.