Bouteillan

The Bouteillan is a cultivar of olives grown primarily in Provence. Originally from the town of Aups in the Var département, it is today grown also in Australia and the United States. It is mostly used for the production of oil. The Bouteillan is vulnerable to certain pests, but has a good resistance to cold.

Bouteillan
Olive (Olea europaea)
Color of the ripe fruit	Black
Also called	Redounan, Cayanne, Plant d'Aups
Origin	France
Notable regions	Var
Hazards	Olive fruit fly, Prays oleae, Saissetia oleae, salinity
Use	Oil and table
Oil content	High
Fertility	Self-fertile
Growth form	Spreading
Leaf	Elliptic-lanceolate
Weight	Medium
Shape	Ovoid
Symmetry	Slightly asymmetrical

Extent

The Bouteillan is originally from the town of Aups in southern France. It is today grown primarily in the region of Var in Provence.[1] It can also be found in Egypt, and as far away as Australia and the United States.[2]

Synonyms

The cultivar has several different local name varieties: Benesage, Redounan, Cayanne, Plant d'Aups and Plant de Salernes.[2]

Characteristics

It is a cultivar of medium-to-weak vigour,[3] with a spreading growth form, and elliptic-lanceolate leaves of medium length and width.[4] The olives are of medium weight, and ovoid, slightly asymmetrical in shape.[4] The stone is rounded at both ends, with a rough surface and a mucro.[3]

Depending on the region, this cultivar is picked from the end of October until New Year.[1] When fully mature, the colour of the fruit is Burgundy.[1] The olive is clingstone – the stone clings to the flesh.[5]

Processing

Descriptions of the Bouteillan vary between a dual-use cultivar and a pure oil cultivar.[6] Though it can be eaten, it is in reality mainly used for extraction of oil.[7] The yield depends to a large extent on the date of harvest, and goes from about 15% to as much as 25%.[1] The taste of the oil, if the fruit is harvested early, is strong and herbal. With a later harvest the taste becomes more fruity, reminiscent of ripe pears.[1]

Agronomy

It is considered a highly productive cultivar, and shows little tendency towards biennial bearing, (i.e. that a good yield is followed by a weaker one the next year) a common problem in many other olive cultivars.[1] It requires light but frequent pruning and irrigation.[5]

The Bouteillan is self-fertile, but it can still benefit from the presence of certain other pollinators. Among the olive cultivars used for pollination are the Picholine, Corniale and Grossane.[1]

It is vulnerable to certain biological pests, in particular the Bactrocera oleae (Olive fruit fly), Prays oleae and Saissetia oleae.[8] It is also sensitive to soil salinity, but has a high resistance to cold.[9]

References

1. Courboulex, Michel (2002). Les oliviers (in French). Paris: Éditions Rustica. pp. 31–2. ISBN 2-84038-635-6.
2. "Cultivar name: Bouteillan". OLEA Databases. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
3. "Morphological characters for cultivar Bouteillan". International Olive Council. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
4. "Bouteillan" (PDF). International Olive Council. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
5. "Bouteillan". Santa Cruz Olive Tree Nursery. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
6. "Agronomical characters for cultivar Bouteillan". OLEA Databases. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
7. "Bouteillan Olives". Practically Edible. Archived from the original on 2013-01-31. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
8. "Susceptibility to biotic stress for cultivar Bouteillan". OLEA Databases. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
9. "Susceptibility to abiotic stress for cultivar Bouteillan". OLEA Databases. Retrieved 2009-01-19.