Scientists of the Crimean Federal University continue to research olive oil of their own production to identify new promising varieties of olives. This was announced by Vitaly Dyatel, Vice-Rector for Innovation and Regional Development of KFU.
“We have been implementing the project for the second year. Based on the results of the work, we want to get the two best varieties, the originator of which will be the Crimean Federal University. Our key task is to reach the industrial scaling of seedlings of subtropical crops. And in order to establish the national economic significance of new varieties, it is necessary to determine the consumer properties of the products that we receive as a result of fruit processing,” said the Vice-Rector.
Scientists study the characteristics of olive oil by gas chromatography and tasting. About 500 trees of 12 hybrid forms of the Koreggiolo and Nikitskaya large-fruited varieties grow on the experimental field of KFU – oil for research is obtained from each.
“Out of 12 forms of olives, we will select the two most promising varieties, which we will add to the register of breeding achievements. This needs to be done in order to introduce our own developments into the real sector of the economy,” said Dmitry Yermolin, director of the selection and nursery center for subtropical fruit crops of KFU.
Specialists produce cold-pressed oil. The chromatograph allows you to find out its fatty acid composition and determine how many useful substances the product contains. The main indicators of the quality of the variety: the yield of the tree and the oil content in its fruits.
The study takes four years. After each harvest, experts analyze the oils, fixing which form gave the best result. In 2024, they will identify the forms from which it was possible to produce the highest quality product during the entire period of the study and which will be able to claim the title of new olive varieties. The work is carried out within the framework of the federal project “Development of large-scale scientific and scientific and technological projects in priority research areas” of the national project “Science and Universities”.
