🫒 Zard

Zard is the most widespread olive variety in Iran. It covers about 44 thousand hectares, and in the north of the country, in the provinces of Gilan, Zanjan and Qazvin and in the Sefidrud river valley, it accounts for 45 per cent of the groves.

Farmers like Zard for its high yields and because the fruit serves two purposes: both oil and table olives. The fruit is rich in oil, 20–25 per cent, and the oil contains about 78 per cent oleic acid. The crop is uneven, though: a rich year is followed by a weaker one.

The fruit is large, moderately elongated and dark purple when ripe. It is harvested mid-season, neither too early nor too late.

Zard cannot pollinate itself, so other varieties, such as Leccino, Rowghani and Mari, are planted next to it. It resists wind and copes moderately with cold and drought, but suffers from verticillium wilt. Its cuttings root well in a greenhouse with mist watering.