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🫒 Olive cultivars

Category ✔ Checked: 10.2026 · sources: 4 Updated:

Oil and table olive cultivars from different countries: where they come from and what they are used for.

Olive cultivars are the cultivated forms of the olive tree, propagated as clones from cuttings or by grafting, so practically every tree in a grove is a copy of its variety. Some are grown for oil, others for table olives, and some serve both purposes.

The International Olive Council (IOC) published the first world catalogue of olive varieties in 2000, covering 139 cultivars from 23 countries. Its description method became the basis of the UPOV guidelines used to register new varieties. The IOC network of gene banks, set up in 1994, links 26 collections holding more than 1,800 cultivars. The reference one is the World Olive Germplasm Bank in Córdoba, where a single anthracnose screening covered 308 cultivars from 21 countries.

The IOC online catalogue describes the main commercial varieties; in October 2026 it listed 60 cultivars from 20 countries, led by Spain (8), Italy (7) and Greece (5). Names are often confused, so the catalogue keeps an index of synonyms, and a cultivar is confirmed by its morphology and DNA markers.

The leading table cultivars are Gordal Sevillana, Manzanilla de Sevilla and Hojiblanca in Spain, Gemlik and Memecik in Turkey, Konservolia and Kalamon in Greece, and Aggezi Shami and Toffahi in Egypt.

Only 4–6 of the more than 600 cultivars in the world gene bank suit super-high-density hedgerow groves. The most widespread are Arbequina, Arbosana and Koroneiki. Other cultivars in this section include Picual, Coratina, Frantoio, Leccino and Chemlali.

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Frequently asked questions

How many olive cultivars are there?

There is no exact figure. The IOC gene bank network holds more than 1,800 cultivars in 26 collections, and the world gene bank alone has over 600. The first IOC catalogue, in 2000, described 139 cultivars from 23 countries.

Is it true that green and black olives come from different cultivars?

No. The IOC standard distinguishes green olives, olives turning colour and black olives by ripeness at harvest: it is the same fruit at different stages. Californian-style «black» olives are even picked green or turning colour and darken through oxidation in an alkaline solution.

Why aren't olive trees grown from seed?

Because a cultivar is a clone: it is propagated from cuttings or by grafting, and practically every olive tree in the world was produced that way. A seedling also takes a long time to bear fruit: its juvenile phase lasts 4–9 years.

Which cultivars suit super-high-density groves?

Only 4–6 out of more than 600: most often Arbequina, Arbosana, Koroneiki and Sikitika, along with Oliana and Lecciana. These hedgerow groves are harvested by a machine that straddles the row.

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🧪 Olive and olive oil composition and health · 🏛️ The olive in culture and history · 🌳 Olive trees, groves and famous trees · 📜 Protected olive oil and olive names · 🏭 Olive harvest and the oil mill · 🫒 Olive oil

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