🫒 Koroneiki

Koroneiki is the most widespread oil olive variety in Greece. According to estimates of the International Olive Council, it covers between half and sixty per cent of the country's olive land. Most of its groves are in Crete and the Peloponnese, and Koroneiki is the variety most often chosen for new plantings.

The name comes from Koroni, a small seaside town in the south of Messinia. That is why it is regarded as native to this area, and it is the variety behind the protected olive oil "Kalamata". In different parts of Greece it is also known by other names, such as Ladolia, Psilolia and Kritikia.

Koroneiki fruit is small, slightly elongated and black when fully ripe. In return, the tree starts bearing early and gives a high, steady crop year after year, with plenty of oil. The oil itself is known for its large share of oleic acid and for keeping well. The tree has a spreading, sparse crown, and the variety does well even in dense hedgerow orchards where trees stand in rows.

Koroneiki tolerates drought and is not fussy about soil, puts up with slightly salty water, but copes badly with cold. It is well protected against leaf spot, moderately against verticillium wilt and the olive fly, but it falls very easily to olive knot. The variety has long since left Greece: it is grown, among other places, in Israel, Chile, Australia and the United States.