ALSO KNOWN AS:
FRANTOIANO, CORREGGIOLO, RAGGIO GENTILE, RAZZO
AREA OF ORIGIN:
TUSCANY
DIFFUSION AREA:
Grown mainly in center/south of Italy. Also grown in other countries including Argentina, Australia, California, Chile, Jordan and Spain. It’s an oil variety particularly wide-spread and appreciated throughout the world because of its high yield and very good quality.
TREE:
The plant is of medium vigor, semi-drooping with an open structure and fruiting branches which are long, slender and flexible. The leaves are elliptical, lanceolate, of medium dimension and glossy dark green.
FRUIT:
The drupe is of medium size (between 1.5 and 2.5 grams), extended oval in form with well visible, sparse whitish markings. Maturation is late and gradual. When mature the fruit is purple-black.
AGRONOMICAL CHARACTERS:
The tree is self-fertile with high, constant productivity. It is extremely early in setting fruit and has an ovarian abortion rate which rarely exceeds 10%, sometimes being even as low as 1%.
OIL CONTENT:
It is rich in oil (between 17 and 22%) which is very fruity and notably aromatic.
HARVEST TIME:
The olives ripen late in the season. They are usually harvested between November and December in Italy.
OTHER CHARACTERS:
While the self-fertile character of the tree guarantees a high and constant fruit production, the presence of a pollinator further increases it. This peculiar productive characteristic, as well as the quality of its oil makes Frantoio a highly valuable and irreplaceable variety. Sensitive to frost, peacock spot (Cycloconium oleaginum) and olive knot (Pseudomonas savastanoi).
