ABSTRACT
I.INTRODUCTION Olive(OleaeuropaeaL.,familyOleaceae)isaperennialevergreentree.Itgrowswellin temperateclimateswithwarm,drysummers.Theothernamesofoliveareaceituna,oliva,and olivier.Thefruitisusedforediblepurposesandforproductionofoliveoil.Thetreeisbelievedto haveoriginatedintheSyro-IranianregionofAsiaMinor(1).Oliveplaysadominantroleinthe economyoftheMediterraneancountries.SpainandItalyarethemajorproducersofolivefruits andoliveoilintheworld(Tablel).Greece,Turkey,andTunisiaalsoproducesignificantamounts ofoliveoil(2).Theworldproductionofoliveswas10,267,000metrictonnes,whilethatofolive oilwas1,965,000metrictonnesduring1987(3).SpainandItalytogethercontributedabout63% and65%oftheworldoliveandoliveoil,respectively(1).SpainisthelargestexporterandItaly importsnearlyhalfoftheentirequantitytradedintheinternationalmarket(3).Thecropis extremelylabor-intensive,providingemploymenttomillions,andaccountsforamajorshareof agricultureincomeinmanycountries(4).Theoliveproducts,whichhavebeenconsumedby Mediterraneanpeoplesforgenerations,areincreasinglybecomingaluxuryincountrieswithhigh standardsofliving(5).
