First results of olive mechanical pruning.

Trees of the 'Leccino' cultivar, with pruning done by pneumatic scissor and chain saw, reduced canopy volume of 25% and showed the prevalent emission of fruiting shoots. With rotating toothed disks mounted on a bar, topping and hedging were executed in different combinations, eliminating or not the suckers inside the canopy. In general topping reduced canopy volume of 23-30% and the tree height of 60-80 cm. The suckers must be eliminated because they increase vegetative activity and canopy density, reducing light penetration. A good quantity of canopy left with mechanical pruning stimulated the emission of fruiting shoots. If with topping and hedging the reduction of canopy volume is about 49%, vegetative shoots are formed and the production will be delayed. The mechanical pruning, with the work productivity 4-12 times the facilitate ones, can help to reduce pruning cost. The mechanical pruning can be improved increasing the cut capacity of the toothed rotating disks and with the supplement of manual and mechanical aids.