Our orchards are located at UC Davis’ historic Wolfskill Ranch, where olives have been planted since 1842. We planted oil, table, and dual varieties for research and for our campus-grown olive oil. We harvest in late October or early November. Our thanks to Agromillora, Santa Cruz Olive Tree Nursery and D & V Nursery for donating olives for these orchards. View a video featuring the orchard on YouTube.
Medium density (3 ac/1.3 ha)
The medium-density orchard reflects a production model widely adopted by California growers, making it a critical platform for applied research, student training, and demonstration trials.
- Planted in 2012 at 12 feet x 17 feet (3.6 m x 5.2 m), 213 trees per acre. Cultivars: Arbequina, Empeltre, Kalamon, Manzanillo, Mission, Ouslati, Picual, Sevillano and Taggiasca
Super-high-density (5 ac/2 ha)
- Planted in 2019 and 2020 at 5 feet x 14 feet (1.5 m x 4.2 m), 622 trees per acre. Cultivars: Arbequina, Arbosana, Koroneiki, Chiquitita, Arbosana x Koroneiki and Lecciana