Pruning in olive groves. Remove all the bad and keep the good

One of the key tasks we carry out once the cold winter weather has passed is pruning our olive grove. Normally, we begin this process in March, but this year, thanks to the abundant rainfall, we had to start, a little later, almost in April.

In this post we would like to share a brief summary of our pruning work, as well as comment on some tips and things to bear in mind when pruning olive trees. It can basically be summed up as ‘remove all the bad and keep the good”. But how do you know what to remove and what to keep? Each tree tells you.

First, it's important to understand the type of pruning you’re going to perform. Not all pruning is the same:

• Creation (training) pruning for young olive trees.
• Thinning pruning for trees in full production.
• Renewal pruning for older olive trees.

In our case, we’ll focus on training and thinning pruning.

We apply creation pruning to olive trees up to six years old, with the goal of preparing them for mechanised harvesting using umbrellas.

The key objectives are:

• Raise the main structure (cross) to a height that allows the harvesting machine to operate without interference.
• Prevent lower branches from touching the canvas of the umbrella.
• Structure the cross with two or three main branches.

This type of pruning is applied to olive trees over six years old and aims to maintain a balanced leaf-to-wood ratio.

Our main tasks include:

• Removing excess wood (especially thick branches) to encourage more leaf growth, which is essential for olive production.
• Eliminating vertical branches ("males") in favor of horizontal ones ("females"), which are more productive.
• Observing the tree’s natural structure—because, as we always say, “the tree tells you what to cut”.

Some of the things to be considered in all types of pruning could be:

The olive tree must be well tucked in, i.e. it must not lose its leaves.

• Pruning is based on removing what is left over to leave what is good, i.e. removing the ‘bad branches’ to leave the ‘good branches’.
• Small branches should not be removed, i.e. thick branches should not be ‘sanded’.
• Pruning varies according to the variety of olive tree.
• A picual olive tree wants to be pruned aggressively to remove thick branches as it is a variety that tends to generate a lot of wood.
• A white-leaved olive tree wants a less aggressive pruning to remove less wood as it is a variety with a fine wood structure.

To conclude, pruning is essential for maintaining productive and healthy olive trees. Whether training young trees or thinning mature ones, the goal is always the same: remove the unnecessary to strengthen what matters—and let each tree guide your hand.

Versión en español.

Tungsten carbide inserts. Wear parts

One of the topics we’ve explored on several occasions, and which continues to capture our interest, is the range of options available for wear parts on our cultivators, ploughs, seed drills, and similar equipment. It is certainly a fascinating subject, and once you start using tungsten carbide you start to look at it differently.

In a recent conversation with the team at Bellota Agrisolutions, we asked them to share more details about the manufacturing process and characteristics of their wear parts. Here are some key insights they provided:

Tungsten carbide is a highly durable and wear resistant material used in many industries, including agriculture. Bellota Agrisolutions has been using tungsten carbide inserts in cultivators for more than 10 years, consistently achieving excellent field performance.

Bellota Agrisolutions only uses virgin tungsten inserts in its production, i.e. meaning no recycled materials are involved. This choice ensures a higher density of tungsten carbide resulting in superior durability and strength. In addition to density, grain size, porosity and hardness of the inserts are measures that are considered to guarantee optimum performance.

The base component is typically machined to provide a perfect and homogeneous insert support. After thoroughly cleaning the surface, the part undergoes brazing and heat treatment, creating high-performance products with uniform hardness throughout the part, thus preventing premature wear. In this controlled process, the workpiece is cooled to create a strong bond between the tungsten insert and the base part. After hardening, the cultivators are shot-blasted to remove all impurities from the heat treatment and then painted.

To ensure the effectiveness of a tungsten carbide-equipped tiller, it’s not just the raw material, brazing process or heat treatment that are important, the design of the insert is also key. Critical wear areas on each component must be carefully studied, and the inserts must be designed and positioned to deliver the best possible performance. Bellota has developed more than 100 different parts with tungsten inserts, marketed under the DURATOP range. These are available both through their own catalogue and as exclusive parts for machinery manufacturers.

Bellota Agrisolutions, aware of the good characteristics of tungsten carbide, has also launched other ways of applying tungsten carbide on the market, calling these ranges DURATOPBOND and DURATOPFUSE.

• DURATOPBOND are tungsten carbide chips fused to the base part with a high-strength braze. This solution is especially suitable for rocky terrain, where there's a higher risk of insert detachment.
• DURATOPFUSE is a technology where tungsten carbide powder is sprayed to create a thin layer, which is then fused to the base component in a controlled-temperature process. This technology is ideal for products where no more than 2mm of coating is advisable, such as cutting tools.

Without a doubt, Bellota's application of tungsten carbide makes it a leader in the industry. Bellota Agrisolutions stands out for offering durable, high-performance wear parts for modern farming needs.

Versión en español.